Karmic Echo
by Ginny McAllister
Summary: Chapter 11: Sakura does what a kunoichi does best: under cover work. Serving as a waitress in the Playboy Club, she searches for a spy that may be linked to Orochimaru.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Sakura's character goes through a brief crossover event which will have increasing repercussions. The "Naruto Part 2" series will begin like normal… a few chapters from now. As for the crossover series, if you aren't familiar with it, hopefully the character and situations will be explained enough that it doesn't matter.

Other inspirations and plot directions will be explained as time goes by. Hopefully funny in many places, adventurous in others. The second arc will be comedy/adventure, the third will be dark/adventure. Occasional bad words and some lime scenes in arc 2 and perhaps later.

As per canon, this story begins with Sakura deeply smitten with Sasuke, the tragic and brooding dark genius. Be warned that in the long run, this is _NOT_ a Sakura Sasuke fic.

We begin with Sakura at age 15. It is still six months before Naruto will return to the village of Konoha, and Sakura has completed her apprenticeship with Tsunade…

oOoOoOoOo

**Prolog **

Sakura leaned back with a satisfied sigh, pushing a loose strand of light pink hair away from her face. The unconscious blonde in the hospital bed in front of her was her best friend – Ino Yamanaka.

Ino was also her fiercest rival. And unlike Sakura, Ino had remained active in the field. The lazy genius Shikamaru had been making a name for Team 10 as he, Ino, and Choji outwitted probes from north and the newly aggressive Land of Sound. The original team had broken up, changed, and then reformed, as each member took their own pace through the chunin promotion. Now re-united, the three members of Team 10 had outwitted a group of six Sound ninja, though Ino had paid for it with a nasty gash across her face.

Back home, in a proper medical facility, Sakura had been the one to see her friend's mutilated face, and the one who was able to repair the damage.

Wearily, Ino blinked, slowly opening her eyes as she woke. She was confused for a moment, then seemed to remember. You could see her expression clouding, as she remembered that from this day on she would be seen as a scarred freak, rather than a desirable beauty. Even more heartbreaking was the blank expression that quickly followed that.

_A ninja must never show emotion._ Sakura knew that rule far too well, even though she was terrible at following it.

She reached for Ino's hand.

"It's fixed," she said simply, happily. "Good as new. No scar, no torn muscles, no nerve damage. Not even a blemish."

Ino's eyes went wide, as she raised her other hand to touch her healed face. "But…how? It was so deep…so jagged…"

"Tsunade's a good teacher," Sakura explained. "She was able to teach me exactly what to do."

As much as Ino tried to maintain her emotionless mask, the tears were flowing freely. "Tell me the truth, Sakura. I can take it. Will I really look…normal?"

"Completely. Though you shouldn't expect it will make any difference to Sasuke, when he comes back. After all, you still have the same personality."

Ino actually laughed. "If you can joke with me, Forehead-Girl, I know I must be okay."

"You will be." Sakura felt tears flowing down her own cheeks. "After all, I had to take care of you. It's not like I have that many best friends to spare."

"If Tsunade's that good, maybe I should become her apprentice, too. Sometimes, out in the field, I get jealous of you, back here in the village, learning to be such an expert medic-nin."

"Hmph. You're also less likely to get your face sliced off."

"There's that, too," Ino admitted. She looked directly into Sakura's eyes, the gratitude more than evident. "What's it like, to heal someone? To bring them back from hell?"

"The second-best feeling in the world," Sakura admitted.

"Second-best? Then what's first?"

Sakura's face abruptly went blank, as she followed her usual pattern and closed herself off, rather than face the ridicule of those who couldn't understand.

"Sasuke," Ino realized. "Sakura… he _will_ come back. Someday."

"Will he?" The medic-nin busied herself with tucking her pink hair back behind each ear. "Even if he does, what will he care for me? I offered him everything before, and he wasn't interested. He only cares about skill. And mine hasn't grown, Ino. Not like you. If I'd been out in the field all this time, instead of following Tsunade…"

Ino's eyes were leaking more freely now. "If you can envy my life, then I think it must be true. You really _did_ fix my face, didn't you?"

Sakura rose, pulling the covers a little higher on her friend. "I had to, Ino. I couldn't bear to have my best friend hurt. Sleep now. I used almost all your chakra."

"I will, Sakura. Thanks to you, I'll sleep easy." Her final murmur was almost a whisper. "Thank you…"

Sakura slipped out of the room and down the hall.

oOoOoOoOo

Sakura found Tsunade in her office, ready for the report. Sakura's rounds had included not just Ino, but the rest of Team 10, two other teams in from the south, and an ANBU member who had taken a spill from a loose roof tile.

The pink-haired teenager gave her summary, including Ino's recovery, and ended with, "I don't know if it's the shock of taking a wound to the face, but Ino sounded interested in doing medic training."

The Fifth Hokage nodded sagely. "We're always short of medic-nins. We've slipped from the point of having a medic-trained person on every chunin team we field. So if your friend asks, what's your recommendation? You know her as well as anyone."

Sakura huffed, blowing a strand of her unique hair away. "I _used_ to know her. She's been taking a lot of field missions, doing a lot of training. Shikamaru and Choji probably know her better than I do, now."

"And you're feeling bitter about that?"

"No…it's just…it's been two and a half years. And my skills – they've just languished. I haven't gotten any better, and I wasn't that good to start with." In one of those unconscious gestures of insecurity, she brought her right hand up to clasp her left arm, hunching her arms in slightly as if giving herself an insecure hug. "Even before, some people thought I was useless…" she admitted, quietly.

"Oh, grow up, girl!" the Fifth bellowed out, as if her volume alone could overpower the basic truth of the statement. "Your genjutsu is top-notch. Admittedly, you've specialized in healing sleep and the like, but with a bit of study you could master a half-dozen offensive forms. And I don't think I've ever seen finer chakra control – ever. It's the control and detail that are usually the stumbling block with genjutsu, and you have both of those mastered.

"And your medical skills – you have a _gift_, girl! Do you realize how rare that is? You've almost matched me, in two and a half years! Do you think your friend Ino will do so well? Do you think anyone in this village could do so well? Please don't tell me that you regret becoming a medic-nin! If it wasn't for you, your friend would have a very memorable scar. I can think of three dozen people, without even trying, who would have wounds or limps or scars that could either make them miserable at home, or a little slower in the field, which could cost them their lives some day. But under your care, it's always, 'Good as new.' Tell me you don't regret that!"

The slender teenager tightened her self-hug and looked aside, as the floor. "No, I don't regret it…"

"But…?"

"But there are people I care about, like Ino. She's getting so good. Didn't you see her in the last chunin exam? And I got a postcard from Naruto, last month. It's always hard to tell what's real and what insane bragging with him, but I think he's going to impress a lot of people when he gets back."

"Whenever that is," Tsunade muttered. "Jiraiya expects to be out for another six months, at least." She peered at her apprentice. "But this isn't about Ino or Naruto, is it?"

Sakura's gaze remained fixed on the floor.

"This is about the Uchiha, isn't it?"

"I just don't want to be _useless!_"

"Arggg!" the older woman yelled. "If that boy wasn't already in trouble with the law, I'd be tempted to charge him with criminal stupidity! I swear, between Uchiha and Uzumaki, I often wonder who's the bigger idiot!"

Without realizing, Sakura found herself moving forward, her hands planted on the Hokage's desk. "You can't say that about Sasuke! He's got reasons for everything he's doing! He just … couldn't tell us. But he's the best, the most caring of all of us! He has to be! Look at the sacrifice he's making for us!"

"No, he's a revenge-obsessed fanatic," Tsunade spat out. "Brilliant within the narrow focus of his tunnel-vision, but despite his sharingan, he's utterly blind outside that." She studied her apprentice. "Although I suppose his blindness puts him in good company."

For a moment, neither of them spoke, then Tsunade finally ended the stalemate. "What is it you want, Sakura? What do you really want?"

"I – I'm not sure," the slender girl admitted. "I just don't want my friends to look down on me. Maybe if I transferred to field work – you were just saying you wanted field medics."

"Girl, you are utterly wasted as a simple field medic. But, I'll admit, your remaining instruction could be done from a book, as well as under my tutelage. I've taught you all the specialized skills I know."

"Except for your strength," Sakura reminded her.

The Fifth Hokage sucked in her breath. "That technique – I almost wish I'd never discovered it. The strength trick can't be taught. I've tried. Among other people, I've tried to teach you, if you recall."

Sakura shook her head. "That's because it made no sense! I must have understood it wrong, because everything you told me was practically backwards from what we know about chakra!"

"Maybe we don't know as much as we think we know…" the Fifth muttered.

"Teach me the real technique! You said yourself that I had good chakra control! I'll bet I could master it!" She looked frustrated for a moment. "Isn't control the secrect? Precise bursts of chakra emitted from the hands? Is so, I'll bet I could master it!"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid of."

"What?"

"Sakura… you're a wonderful girl. Look at me. I have problems keeping away from saké half the time, we all know what I'm like with gambling…"

"Tsunade-sama, that's not because of a jutsu."

"Are you so sure of that?" Tsunade demanded. "Everyone thinks my 'issues' all began with Dan's death. Well, I let them think that. It's safer that way. And I'll admit that I changed after his death – a lot. Before that I never drank, I could care less about gambling, and I had no problem looking at men, or falling in love, or pursuing a relationship, as I proved through my love for Dan."

"Hokage?"

"That horrible jutsu – it's an S-rank jutsu, do you understand? It seeks out knowledge. Your spirit is forced out of your body. The jutsu takes concepts from seals and summoning… My idea was that if reincarnation was real, maybe some past self of mine had the knowledge I lacked – strength, skills, mastery, knowledge of the mind and body. Knowledge I could have used to save Dan, or people like him. And in a way, it worked, didn't it?" The hokage gave a bitter laugh. "I gained my incredible strength. I don't even use chakra, it's… it's just different. And it messed me up so bad I couldn't even heal for weeks afterward.

"But don't you see? I gained too much knowledge. Your spirit is forced out of you – it travels through time or space or I don't know what. You touch other incarnations of _you_. That's the only way the knowledge can cross over. But you get more than dry information. The spirit that returned to my body was changed. Sometimes, I think I was permanently damaged. Along with that so-valuable strength technique," her voice was heavy on the sarcasm, "I came back with a love of drinking, and an addition to gambling. And worst of all," Tsunade turned away, and forced herself to say it, "I was a man. I mean, the part of me that got contacted. I don't even want to talk about how much that messed up my love life."

Sakura stared at the older woman in fascinated horror. "You remember being a _man?_" The thought was even more disturbing than Naruto's perverted centerfold jutsu.

"Bits and pieces," Tsunade admitted. "You'd have a fifty-fifty chance of picking up the same problem. Half the population is men, after all. For me, I remembered just enough to totally kill my sex life for about three years, and screw up the rest for decades. But I learned a strength trick that no one else can duplicate! Whoop-de-doo!"

Tsunade paused, scowling seriously at the frail-looking girl. "So, do the risks sound worth it?"

Sakura's mind was racing. The possibilities! The knowledge to be gained! She imagined herself with strange abilities that neither Sasuke nor Naruto could match. They wouldn't find her useless anymore! But then she pictured herself with beard stubble on her chin, holding a cigar and a stiff drink, wearing men's undershorts and belching.

"Ew."

Which got her thinking of other questions. "Tsunade-sama, did you ever consider trying it again? Reaching for some _other_ incarnation or whatever?"

"Believe me, this technique is a once-only. After one exposure, the only way you'd use it twice is to perform and extremely slow and painful suicide. I don't think there's _anyone_ whose personality could stand up to a second exposure."

"Is it just random?"

"Noooo… You concentrate on what you're looking for, and your spirit travels to meet the closest match."

"So you could ask for a girl."

Tsunade nodded. "But no guarantees. The closest match. I wanted to be stronger. It was too late to save Dan, but I wanted the strength and knowledge to save people like him. And Orochimaru was on my mind a lot. I wanted to understand his 'poker face' and the moods and secrets that people hide, and ambition. I got all of that, but not quite the way I expected."

"So you saw into a strange man's memories? Someone from the past?"

"It wasn't like that. First, he was from a completely different world, I think. Second, he wasn't 'a strange man.' He was _me_, once. And for a while, I was him again. Only, this wasn't his world, or his time."

Tsunade dropped her head, feeling miserable with the memory. "I'm not convincing you at all, am I?"

Sakura's eyes had gone wide. Forget about Ino's lousy two years of field work. Who knew what she might learn?

"Sakura – please think this through! You're a wonderful girl! I don't want to lose you!"

"I can handle this, Hokage. I know I can!"

The Over-Used Crossover Corporation, in conjunction with Chee-Z Plot Device Theater present:

**Karmic Echo**

**ARC 1: Sakura 1/2**

**Chapter 1**

I returned to the "real world" with the echo of my demands still running through my skull like a broken record. "A strong girl, a master of taijutsu, with special techniques like nothing we know today. I want to be the best!"

I snorted. I was the best, all right, for all it had gained me. A life of combat and chaos, the strongest fighter, but ignorant and inarticulate and constantly being exploited by everyone. Doomed to endless frustration in love due to the fact that I just couldn't be decisive. I couldn't stand to hurt anyone's feelings. And the things that had really mattered – parents, growing up with a normal childhood, friends who would support me without always hitting me – I never had any of those. If reincarnation was real, in my next life I was going to do things differently!

Only…I realized that I _had_ done things differently. My love life was utterly decisive. I'd offered Sasuke my love, my heart, and my body, and that adorable bastard had sucker punched me and walked away. And I was still in love with him so hard that I wanted to puke.

The disgust of it made my eyes cross. Me, Saotome Sakura, in love with a _guy_, of all things!

At least I'd done a good job fixing the 'ignorant and inarticulate' part. I'd gone from being the dumbest kid in school to the smartest bookworm. And I'd had loving, normal parents. And I had the very best of friends. That counted for a lot. And even when I clouted them in the skull, they never ever hit _me_. Yeah, my friends were better than I deserved.

I looked down at my body, seeing myself with new eyes.

Thank god my boobs weren't too big. I was lying flat on my back, and I could actually see my toes. Back when I'd been a guy, my tits had been so huge that I couldn't jump up to the roof without smacking myself in the face, practically.

My eyes crossed again.

I'd deliberately sought out a girl! And I'd found one. Just a girl who was mostly a guy.

"Sakura? Are you there? Are you okay?" Tsunade's voice was worried.

So long as I was hung up on boobs, the lady leaning over me had quite the pair. Absolutely huge. Made my girl-body look like Miss Hinako. In her child form.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Mostly. Can I get a glass of water?" Then a terrifying thought struck me. "Make that two glasses – one hot, one cold."

oOoOoOoOo

Reaction set in after that. Tsunade sat there watching me, as I took a sip and then poured the water over my head. I'm sure she thought I was insane.

"Heh heh," I fake-laughed. "No change." Neither glass had any effect, aside from making me wet. I wasn't sure whether to be happy or sad. I wasn't a sex-changing freak, but I was stuck as a girl. Which is what I wanted – sort of. Except when I didn't.

"Crap, lady, you weren't kidding about what that does to your mind. Insert soul, press 'frappe'."

The woman scowled at me. "Sakura, give me a sign that you're still in there!"

Just for grins, I indulged her, talking in my wimpy voice. "I'm here, Hokage-sama. Just a little confused, I guess. But then," I blinked at her innocently, "I've been doing stupid shit in the name of training ever since I was a little kid in my _previous_ life!"

The woman gave a theatrical sigh and rubbed her temple. "I am not letting you outside like that! I'm either going to lock you up where only I can see you, or else send you on a long and distant mission alone, which I suppose might as well be a death sentence, in the condition you're in."

I held my hands up. "Whoa! Hold it, there, grandma! A couple of points here! First, it might not be the death sentence you're thinkin' of. Haruno Sakura don't lose! Although, I could stand to get in shape, I guess. And second, _nobody_ locks me up! And… what number was I on? Anyway, what's wrong with the way I talk?"

"Because you don't sound a BIT like Sakura! This is an S-Rank jutsu. That means, no one is even supposed to know it exists! I told people I got my strength from a secret medical scroll. You can tell them the same thing, if you end up learning a technique out of this. But not unless you can convince people that you're still Sakura, and you won't do it sounding like that!"

"_A_ technique? _ONE_ technique? Listen up, Life Support, I've got more techniques than you've got scrolls in your library!" A memory intruded. "Uh… well, maybe not the whole library. One floor. One room, I mean. But I'm getting off track! I got a lot of techniques!"

The lady in the sloppy kimono just sighed. "If you can remember this later, Sakura, keep hold of this personality or whatever it is. It's a great disguise. Better than genjutsu. I'm looking at you, I've used the technique myself, and even I can't believe this is you."

"That reminds me," I said, "you got a mirror? I mean, I remember what I look like, but then I think to myself, 'That can't be right.' So I kinda want to check."

"Over there. I understand perfectly. Do you actually remember the name of your past life? I never got quite that much detail."

I sat up off the low cot, rising to my feet and feeling how incredibly weak I was. It was like the weakness moxibustion, only worse. It was like being drained by Hinako, only worse. I stood unsteadily and stared at myself in the mirror, comparing the girl I saw to any one of my fiancées.

"What is it with me and red hair? So – not exactly a beauty, am I? Cute, I suppose. Oh, great, just what I wanted. Cute. Nice hair, though. What am I? Some offshoot of the Amazons? How come I got a normal name, instead of something like 'Toilet Water'?"

"What _are_ you babbling about?"

I stepped up to the old biddy and stuck my hand out. "Haruno Ranko – sorry about this."

"Ranko?"

"Aw, hell, that's not right. I'm… Sakuranbo. No, uh, that's that stupid monk. I mean, I only go by 'Ranko' when I'm a girl. Sometimes. I'm Ranma. Saotome Ranma."

oOoOoOoOo

The old woman looked as confused as I felt. I gave her my life story, the abridged version, ending up with my fight against Saffron the Phoenix God.

"It was pretty much more of the same after that," I wrapped up. "Fiancées, fights, but new techniques got more and more scarce. I started spending longer and longer on 'training trips' and out looking for a cure. I'd long since gotten used to the curse, but it made a good excuse." I sighed. "I never did get cured."

"Which one did you end up marrying?"

"None," I admitted in disgust. "Died an innocent young lad, at the tender age of 38. At least I went out defending all of them. Damn demon. Guess I should be glad not to be waking up in Hell."

"You didn't marry _any_ of them?"

I gave a tired smile. "Whose honor was I supposed to spit on? Whose life was I supposed to destroy? Believe me, if I'd had just one, any one of them, but only one, I would have clung to her until the day I died." That's when it hit me, right in the gut. The thought made me want to throw up, but I felt the truth. "Oh, crap. I guess this really _is_ me. I suddenly understand. I gave my heart to Sasuke. It's like fate's revenge or something. I couldn't decide between Shampoo and Akane and Ukyo, so this life I get exactly one. Sasuke. And no matter what he does, or how he acts, or how long I have to wait, it won't matter, will it?"

I collapsed down to my knees, legs splayed to each side in a pose that no male can emulate. Or would ever want to.

"Fuck. I am head-over-heels for a _guy_. That's just sick."

"You're a girl, _Sakura_. It's considered fairly normal."

"Yeah," I grumbled. "Just like the rest of my life. And now my death. Real normal … _not_." I tried to keep from crying, and thereby proving my total girliness and pathetic-ness. "At least he kicks butt. He better not try to kiss me though, or I'll punch him."

"Let me just check on a room for you. Something with a locking door, so no one will … disturb … you. I'm sure that with a good night's rest you'll get yourself more 'together.'"

"Still," I mused, "combat ninja. How cool is that? And a buttload of new techniques to learn. And chakra? What the hell is chakra? And for once, I'm the smartest one in class. Ha ha! Ask me when the battle of Sekigahara was!"

"The battle of … what?"

"Beats me!" I shouted. "But I can recite every rule in the Shinobi Code." Those ran through my head and I realized how ruthless those rules actually were. "Crap, you people train your kids to be psycho killers, did you know that? No wonder Itachi went off the deep end!"

"We're soldiers," the village leader shot back. "Entirely voluntary, and trained from childhood. Was your world any better, with flaming phoenix gods and malignant spirits, or schools with orchestrated attack mobs?"

"Heh heh." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment. "Actually, that was pretty unusual. My personal corner of weirdness, you know? And we were all fairly decent. Fights to the death, but it was pretty rare that some creep would actually try to _hurt_ someone. The rest of the world didn't have it half so good, what with police forces, standing armies, and all those tanks and fighter planes. But it got so you didn't have to worry about stuff like atom bombs or terrorists with anthrax, or those things so much." I tried to shut my mouth while I was ahead. "Okay, I'm saying it badly. I'll admit, my world had some violence, too."

"Atom bombs? Our tiniest bombs are explosive tags. Why in the world would you need a bomb the size of an atom? And what would you do with it?"

I flushed in embarrassment once more. "Uh, never mind. You're better off without 'em, believe me."

The old battle axe rose up. "Well, you take some time to settle in. I think it'll be a couple of days before you'll be ready to roam the town."

"I told you before – you ain't locking me up!" Then I got a crafty idea. "But I might cut a deal, for some training."

"What are you talking about?"

I held out my skinny girl arm, with its noodle-like muscles.

"Look at these muscles. Or rather, _lack_ of muscles! I probably need both arms to do chin ups! And I'll bet I get tired after the first hundred or so!" My mind and memory revealed the ugly truth. "Fifty chin-ups? I can only do fifty chin-ups? It's not fair! I've got so much work to do! And I've got so little ki that I can't even feel it!"

"Sorry, Sakura. I'm keeping you in here for now. At least until you sound more like yourself."

I screwed my eyes shut and did my level best to restrict myself to being Miss Meek and Polite once more. Okay, I wasn't as bad as Hinata, but what a wimp I'd been!

"Please, Tsunade-sama?" I begged, straining to talk like the more modern, girl-wussy me. "If I were to use your personal training facilities, I shouldn't expect to run into many people. And if there were any problems, I could simply tell them I was recovering from a new medical technique you tested on me. Which is pretty much the truth, after all."

The boob-hag peered suspiciously at me. Finally, "Very well. But if anyone talks to you, you will talk back to them like the normal Sakura that we all know and love, not some psychotic bumpkin. Understood? And I'll interview you again before you're allowed out into the larger village."

"Agreed," I snapped.

Part of me, Ranma I suppose, was ready to grasp at any momentary victory. Another part – Sakura? – knew that these conditions were probably the best we could expect from Tsunade.

So I followed her down the stairs of the tower to a private, well-equipped gym.

I rubbed my hands together in anticipation.

"Okay, let's see what we can do!"

(to be continued…)

END OF CHAPTER 1

oOoOoOoOo

Author's Notes:

Obviously, the crossover series is "Ranma 1/2".

I was deeply impressed by Largo's series, "Wild Cherry Blossom", where Sakura is a reincarnation of Ranma. The image of Sakura kicking butt (with a compelling explanation and a well-crafted story) really grabbed me. Ranma crossovers seem relatively rare, and competent Sakura stories seem extremely rare. In large part, this story exists because I came to the end of Largo's work and wanted more. (Write more, Largo!)

My second influence… I won't reveal yet. Perhaps in sixteen chapters or so, when we begin that story arc.

There are many other good Ranma crossovers, particularly if you jump over to the Ranma section. There is "The Shinobi of Legends" by CrossoverFanatic1, "Ranma's New Path" by Joheru, "Fallen Leaf" by Porthos112, Innortal's "Shinobi 1/2", "Wild Reincarnation" by Ice-Tea-1983 (also inspired by Largo), and most especially the fantastic "Tales of the FoxCat" by Ozzallos. I've placed my story in the Naruto section, though, since it's 98 Naruto and only 2 Ranma. Heck, Sakura/Ranma isn't as out of character as half the fanfics out there. (And that's not meant as a complaint or a jab – that's part of what fanfics are _for_ – to experiment with different characterizations.)

I have plenty of other influences beyond the ones above. I'll mention them as bits of my theft come to light.

Neither Largo nor other authors have been asked permission for my various plot thefts. They haven't given approval, nor do I seek their approval. My rationale: Just as fanfiction freely takes the work of Masashi Kishimoto and mangles it for our own amusement, without permission or approval, I have taken the work of some fanfic writers, and mangled it for my (and hopefully your) amusement.

Disclaimer: I do not own the works or characters created by Largo or Masashi Kishimoto or Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of any copyright or property is intended.

Finally, a note on spelling and Romanization. Assuming that we don't use hiragana, katakana, and kanji (in other words, we write using a Roman alphabet), we're all spelling the names wrong. At best, we can achieve an approximation of the Japanese rendering. Traditional Hepburn romanization indicates long vowels (long duration) with a macron (hard to type) or a double letter (oo, uu) or an ou. By personal preference, I use a single O or single U. I would spell things "Tokyo" rather than Tookyo, and Hyuga rather than Hyuuga.

Japanese also doesn't indicate plural. In Japanese, you have one ninja or two ninja. (The same way that English has one sheep or two sheep.) But… English has stolen "ninja" and we've made it our own. So in America, you have one ninja or two ninjas. Either is correct, either is fine. But I'll be using the Japanese style, so I won't add a final S to some Japanese words, including nin, ninja, shinobi, kunoichi, and the like.

Next chapter: The new Sakura meets Team Gai, and confronts her best friend and worst rival! Be there!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Sakura's world continued to surprise me. Or maybe I should say, Ranma's way of looking at things continued to provide new insights. By and large, our culture relies on craftsmen and highly trained experts in small shops. Ranma's world did all of that with gigantic corporations and assembly lines. So, thinking about it, a TV in our world ended up costing a lot more, but we didn't have salarimen working mindless shifts at Mitsubishi. By Ranma's viewpoint, our world was a lot nicer and more personal, but he kept making the mistake of thinking that all we could produce were the goods you'd find in a small village in his world.

The Hokage's gym was like that.

We usually like to work and train outdoors, in the streets or the forest. In Ranma's world, it seemed like people had almost an allergy to being outside. Cars? What was the point of all that? Shuttling from place to place in trains and busses, never feeling the rain on your face – I was seeing a strange world. It made sense in its own way, but it was certainly twisted. They'd had so many cars that they ended up smoking out their own world, and changing the air of the entire planet.

But I'm digressing.

The fact is, we don't have a lot of indoor gyms, but you need them sometimes. The Hokage is often "stuck in the office," so for our village leader we pull out all the stops. The Hokage's gym has normal gym equipment – parallel bars, uneven bars, rings, treadmills, and plenty of mats. It also has an indoor kunai range, and a set of machines that Ranma thought of as "nautilus" machines. Although, ours were a bit more advanced, I'm pleased to say.

The trick with exercise is to work it till it burns. I wasn't in bad shape. You can't do tree-travel unless you're in top shape. That's where you leap up into the tree top, then travel by leaping from branch to branch. Ranma, though in amazingly better shape than I was, seldom used that technique, even in the forest.

I settled into the nautilus and began to work my legs.

I began to contemplate the differences between Ranma's skills and Sakura's. Tree-travel seemed to be a key issue.

The youngest shinobi in the academy learns to mold chakra. Even last-in-the-class dropout-boy Naruto could mold _some_ chakra. You don't need seals to use chakra to boost your movement. Chakra could add power to your muscles. But it was burst movement, fast-twitch muscle activity. A leap, a block, or a kunai throw. With the unconscious help of chakra, you could leap fifty feet, or fling a shuriken like… like a _bullet_.

_Bullets_ were a concept from Ranma's world. I was thankful that they didn't exist here. I decided not to mention them to anyone. Not that a real shinobi would be troubled by a handgun, but Ranma's world seemed to have refined the art of "arms race." They'd start with bullets and handguns, and keep going until they had cannons and battleships and missiles that killed people on the other side of the world.

At times, I had problems with the shinobi way, and the need to kill people. The horrible need to stare someone in the eye as his life ran out. Our first real mission, to the Country of Waves, nearly broke my heart. I'm not sure that I could have killed, even Zabuza. It was the same sort of heartbreak I'd felt killing Saffron – only under the absolute most intense provocation.

And yet … I liked this world more than Ranma's world. Better for two shinobi to meet face-to-face with killing intent. That was far better than anonymous strangers who killed from a distance, with nobody to even see the innocent dead.

The two sides of me had a lot to reconcile, and it was easy to get distracted.

I'd been thinking about tree-travel.

From a young age, in the academy, we were trained to move and throw and hit using chakra to give those critical bursts of power to our muscles. Every shinobi learned that. Everyone except for Rock Lee. Like much of the populace, Lee was never able to access his chakra – not in a useful way. It took him years longer, but under Gai's training, he could eventually move and throw like everyone else. He claimed that it was sheer muscle power and strength training, but that was absurd.

Only… as Ranma I knew that it _wasn't_ absurd. Particularly if Lee was making unconscious use of his _ki_.

Part of me knew about chakra. In my own modest way, I was a master of it. Maybe I didn't know so many ninjutsu techniques, or genjutsu techniques – outside the medical realm – but I understood it perfectly, and my control was second to none. I was a chakra master.

Part of me knew about ki. In my own arrogant way, I was a master of it. Not only did it infuse every aspect of my being, but I could even pull it out of my body, using it to perform a small handful of techniques that bordered on magic. I was a ki master.

And … the two systems, charka and ki, were nothing alike! I would have expected them to be different views of the same whole, but they weren't.

Chakra was almost meant to be an external force. Sure, it gave bursts of muscle power, but the real use came when you molded and projected it. Seals and patterns and energies allowed you to create elemental forces in the palm of your hand, project mind-controlling illusions, or create energy-based clones.

Ki, conversely, was meant to be an internal force. There were some amazing techniques you could pull by using it externally, but its greatest utility was unconscious _internal_ use. Ki bolsters the muscles, strengthening every cell and system in the body. Ryoga took the body hardening to the extreme, but even as Ranma I could take a twenty-meter fall onto concrete without taking much more than a bruise. The concrete usually shattered. And my speed and strength were like … like Rock Lee's.

I wasn't strong enough yet to do Ranma's kata – that was my goal for the next few days, to work up to the point where I could begin to perform the Anything Goes forms. Kata are like a dance – you can lose yourself in them completely, as you strive for the perfect movement, losing your mind in the beauty and power of the motion itself. Martial arts, Ranma style, is a love of movement. It is dance and combat for the sheer beauty of it.

As Ranma, I'd been told that my kata were beautiful, my movements entrancing.

I had a brief daydream of Sasuke watching me as I danced through a kata, all speed and power and grace.

"Sakura," he'd say in wonder, "you're so magnificent! So beautiful! I – I'm not worthy! Will you let me just…hold you?"

Oh, that did strange things to my psyche. Particularly as I imagined the tiniest spark of desire and lust in Sasuke-kun's eyes. Part of me fluttered in embarrassment and delight, while part of me wanted to barf.

But I couldn't even begin to build my ki until I undid my training to use chakra. I wanted to exercise Rock Lee style, where each chin-up built my muscles, and grew my ki. Right now, I'd be unconsciously using bursts of chakra to give my muscles an extra kick.

So, step one was to sit down and meditate. I needed to turn my chakra off. I'd pull it out consciously, for healing and jutsu, but no more chakra muscle boosts…

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"How are you doing?" Tsunade asked, staring at me in amazement.

She'd joined me up for dinner, and I had consumed a third of the dishes already and was still accelerating. Her eyes were bulging, just a bit.

"A good start to getting back in shape," I admitted, pausing before I sucked down the rest of the bowl of ramen in one gigantic gulp. "I managed to start some basic tai chi chuan, and managed to touch my ki for the first time, while I was doing that. If I can finally get ahold of my ki, that'll really speed things up." I finished slurping and happily set down the empty bowl.

"Er…Sakura? You don't like ramen, do you?"

I wiped my mouth with the back of my arm. "Old prejudice," I admitted. "When I was a kid, I snuck a spoonful out of mom's bowl. Which was super spicy. Ever since, I've associated ramen with being spicy. But Ranma really loved the stuff. There was this one restaurant—" I glanced at the bowl, realizing something that Ranma would never have noticed. "Oh, sorry! That was yours, wasn't it?"

She sighed. "It's no problem. I can order another." She looked in awe at the empty dishes I was leaving in my wake. "Aren't you afraid this is going to go straight to your hips?"

"No problem," I said, grabbing for a vegetable-rice dish. "Even for a halfway decent martial artist, excess food goes into ki before it gets turned to fat. Back as Ranma, my main medical issue was a chronically low body-fat index." I paused, looking down at my modest endowments. "Oh. Damn, so much for having a nice bustline." I giggled. "You wouldn't know it, but Ranma about died at that statement."

"So how are you and Ranma doing? You seem to have picked up quite a bit more than I did, when I used the technique."

"Honestly?" I thought. "There's good and bad. Maybe the best analogy I can think of is a smoker that is completely disgusted by cigarettes. Part of you hates it, but another part _needs_ that smoke. It's not like you really have two different people inside of you, it's just conflicting urges. Whenever I think of Sasuke, my dreams of our life together, the Ranma part of me reacts like the anti-smoker."

The Hokage picked up her own bowl, eating more slowly. "So how are you coping? Your language is a lot better."

I deliberately let myself lapse into Ranma-speak. "Ya mean, better'n when I call ya an old biddy?" I grinned. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama. In my previous life I never had much schooling. It was life on the road, until I reached… about the age I am now.

I nodded, half to myself. "The old me and the present-day me… we're coming to an accommodation. Thinking about Sasuke is one of the big problems. I love him, but he's … a guy. So for now, my compromise is that both parts of me agree to track him down and drag him back, before he becomes a worse danger or Orochimaru can abuse him any more. What to do with that lovely idiot after he's back home – we'll wait and see."

I was quiet for a moment, not even eating.

"It's weird," I admitted. "Ranma completely cringes at the idea of being a girl. And at the same time… part of what I respect most about modern me is my loyalty and devotion to a single love. I can't… I can't imagine changing that, or wanting to change that. Which the older part of me cherishes and fears, simultaneously.

"And, for a guy who is so stuck on being an absolute _guy_ (and in the stupidest ways imaginable, usually), he really wants me to get more hot dresses."

The older woman raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"Well, it comes from the girl curse he had. I told you about that, right? How he was magically cursed to change into a girl, whenever he was splashed with cold water? Anyway, I'm starting to think that my defining characteristic back then was my competitiveness. The thought that anyone else was better than me at anything, particularly looks or sexiness, that was too much to take."

Tsunade rubbed her temple. "So, you used to be a chauvinistic asshole who liked to wear sexy dresses so he'd look like the sluttiest girl imaginable?"

"Uh, the way I remember it, things weren't quite that … stupid. Well, I mean, I wasn't _always_ that stupid."

"Oh, really?"

I gave a painful grin. "Well… there were extenuating circumstances…"

"Uh huh." She peered at me critically. "Do you want me to order more food, Sakura?"

"Uh… if it's not too much trouble."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

By day two, I started on the parallel bars. At first, they were just a chore. Back in the old days, in an earlier life, parallel bars were like candy. Any excuse to get aerial was a joy. And parallel bars were just an invitation to show off, to make my own carnival ride as I slung my body around like a rocket. The only problem – most people didn't bolt their bars to the floor. The bars were braced for normal gymnasts, but the speed and momentum I could develop would tip the bars over in about five seconds.

Back when.

In my new body, I could barely do a walking handstand.

But I had felt the first few threads of ki, the merest drops of energy condensing through my body. I wasn't starting from scratch. I'd done this before, and I knew the tricks. I knew how to nurture ki, how to grow it and expand it. With ki, I could surpass human limits, and using ki would improve my body even faster, thus turning it into a better ki factory.

Chakra was energy that allowed near-miraculous projections. Ki was an energy that turned the body into perfection.

I fed trickles of power into my arms, and suddenly I had the strength I needed to sling myself the way I wanted. I hung above the bars for a moment, then I slung down through them, and around, pivoting on one arm and turning. Another great circle through the middle of the bars and I was up, in mid-air, doing a somersault just for the joy of it. For five brief minutes I danced on the parallel bars, until practically the last drop of ki was gone from my system. I misjudged that last moment, dropping hard to the side and nearly giving myself a broken arm.

I'd exhausted nearly the last trace of ki, and I suddenly felt my heart pounding in my chest, as it labored to keep me alive.

But my soul – it soared. My art – Ranma's art – was an aerial style. It took to the air because it was so unbelievably fun. There is no narcotic so addictive as the ability to fling yourself through the sky like a slingshot. As Ranma, I was an absolute total adrenaline junkie. As Sakura, I wasn't.

Not until now.

I lay on the ground, panting, near dead from pushing my body too hard and fast. My medical knowledge told me that I'd pushed myself disturbingly near the edge. I tried to promise myself to never do that again.

But with a ragged grin, I knew that any such promise would be a lie.

Using my chakra, I reached for the sort spot on my arm and healed the bruise.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You look a little different," Tsunade judged, at that night's dinner.

I was already stripping the meat from a drumstick with my teeth.

"Not fatter, thank goodness," she decided. "But not really any more muscular, either. Not that I'd expect you to add all that much bulk, and surely not so quickly."

"Martial artists don't bulk up so much," I admitted. "It just gets hard. Really hard." I remembered breaking chains with my hands and shattering concrete with my face.

"Tsunade-sama," I began, striving for the best phrasing, "I think I'm ready to leave your tower. Do you think that perhaps, tomorrow…?"

She had a counter-offer. "What about, instead, if I release you to return to your hospital rounds?"

"That would be okay, I guess," I reluctantly admitted. "But I'd really rather have a couple more days of training, first. Then I'd have picked up enough to continue my strength training during rounds."

She sipped a small saké and puzzled over that. "Then, why not spend tomorrow as you spent today? 'Getting in shape.' What do you need in town?"

"Are you kidding? A whole new wardrobe, for one thing!"

Tsunade gave me a half-lidded look of inquiry. "And what's wrong with the clothes you have now? That red sleeveless dress is attractive enough, and your shorts are practical, for both hospital work and shinobi missions."

"Uh huh. That's the problem completely," I admitted. "Practical! Feh. I haven't decided what I'll do with Sasuke once I drag him back here, but one thing's for sure – he's gonna know I'm _hot!_ And this outfit just doesn't cut it. I was thinking of something more in a cheongsam, maybe a little more sheer? Or maybe the leotard-dancer look. Hmmm, that would fit with the whole leg-warmers style, and I need to pick up weights from Lee, or wherever he buys them. Anyway, I need some outfits, and I need to test 'em out, see how they play to the crowd, you know?" I cupped my modest chest. "I don't know what works with a small bust. Although I sure have plenty of hip, don't I?"

She grimaced. "I hope I haven't helped create a monster here."

"Oh, come on," I protested. "The village needs more hot girls! Who do we have that's really hot? I mean, Ino's pretty, though I'll have to kill you if you ever tell her I admitted that. Let's see, Hinata's cute. Anko's awesome if anyone really likes the top-heavy look."

Glancing over at my Hokage's sudden glower, I replayed my last few words. Oops. Saotome foot-in-mouth disease strikes again.

"Uh, I mean, Anko's … uh … so unsubtle. Like a brick to the face. Of course, how could you talk about the beautiful women of Konoha without mentioning our _beautiful_ Hokage-sama! But, you're not exactly part of the dating scene, are you? Ha ha!"

She blinked at my rapid-fire dodges. "Hmmm. I went through something like this after I used the jutsu. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you're less impressed with the 'hot girls' because you, yourself are a girl?"

"What? No way!"

"So tell me, what 'hot guys' do we have?"

"Uh, well, not like I'd look for something like that," I prefaced, "and of course, it goes without saying that Sasuke's the absolute hottest. But Naruto's cute, in an earnest sort of way, and I'll admit that Rock Lee's _body_ is top notch, although the eyebrows, bowl cut, and that terrifying green outfit are really a bit disturbing. Same for Gai, in a grown-up 'older man' sort of way. Neiji's got that mysterious allure, and Shikamaru had the cocky'n'confident attitude down pat. Shino's bugs are just gross, but the glasses and jacket combo is very yum. Kiba? Fierce and cuddly at the same time. And Kakashi-sensei, well, 'older guy' you know, but he is pretty much the ultimate in cool, after Sasuke."

I felt my skin go cold and clammy. "Oh, shit. I'm getting off talking about guys, aren't I?"

"Mmmm hmmm."

"Look, this whole think about looking hot, it's about _me_, what I want to be. Not about guys, or perverted relationships or anything."

The Hokage took another sip of her saké and gave me an indulgent smile. "I understand your desire to look good, Sakura, but with all these new memories don't forget – first and foremost, you are a shinobi. In particular, a chunin kunoichi. That's why your outfits need to be somewhat practical."

I waved a hand. "Aw, don't worry about that. Now that I'm starting to get more than a trickle of ki, that's no problem."

"No? A belt pouch doesn't exactly go with a cheongsam, or some leotard outfit. And without that, you're going to have trouble carrying so much as a kunai, much less a full medical kit. And those more decorative, less practical outfits are generally not resistant to the sort of wear and tear that a shinobi puts on their gear."

I finished shoveling a bowl of rice into my mouth. "Like I said, now that I've got some ki, I can do _hidden weapons_ again." I manipulated my fingers in a magician's move, withdrawing a kunai from the air. "See? And it's better for the whole kunoichi thing if I don't look like a ninja, right? The more I look like just some innocent girl, the better, right?"

"Uh…" she stared at the knife. "Where did that come from?"

I flipped the knife around and stashed it again, once more in mid-air, nowhere near a sleeve or pocket. "And with the dresses and stuff, if I know what's coming I'll use '_iron cloth_'. That'll make 'em plenty tough."

As demonstration, I shook out my linen napkin, stiffening it up with a touch of the old '_iron cloth_' technique. I obviously needed practice, since it only got about as stiff as a piece of cardboard. Still, I tapped it on the table. I handed it over to the Hokage, who looked at the stiff square in befuddlement, until my ki faded and it folded up again like normal cloth.

"I think you picked up a few more techniques than I was able to."

I smirked. "Well, I _was_ the best. And I'm going to be that way again. But first you need to authorize me for movement out into the village."

"Hmmm. Alright, I'll do it. But no showing off, not until you clear it with me. Still, I'd like to see where you can go with all of this."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

My genin salary wasn't that large, but I could afford a few things. I did most of my shopping at _Petals and Leaves_. They're really a very nice store; I don't shop there just because of my name.

"What can I help you with?" The salesgirl's nametag labeled her as "Misty."

"Well, Misty, I need at least three full outfits. One that's good for exercise and casual wear, another for fun around town, and maybe something a little nicer, for dates and stuff."

Not that I was planning to _go_ on dates, it was just easier to explain it that way.

"Sure. But I've seen you around – aren't you a shinobi? Do you want to see our shinobi outfits, instead?"

"Nope! I'm tired of that stuff! I want something a little more appealing, if you catch my drift."

"Ooooh! A boy!"

"Something like that," I grumbled.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Two things I really liked about my body these days: my hair, and my eyes. I know, pink hair sounds silly, but for some reason I really like it. I was proud of it. And my eyes were this cool green, partway between a darker jade and a lighter emerald. That was likely to change a little, I thought. With extended ki use, you could see it a bit in the eyes. In my previous life, my eyes had started at a normal blue, but deepened until they were an almost clear sapphire color. It caused me no end of problems as a guy, but to conquer Sasuke, I'd use any weapon I could get.

I tightened the old reliable black ribbon in my hair, and in the mirror, I saw the old familiar Sakura. Perhaps a touch more confident, a trifle more aggressive. Nothing that showed up too much. For example, it wasn't obvious that I was actually wearing twenty hair ribbons. It was a trick borrowed from Ryoga. They could serve as anything from impromptu shuriken to handcuffs, to rope. And topping it all, my genin head band.

My top was a hot pink spandex leotard. The color of my hair, only turned up about a thousand degrees. It was a sleeveless crop-top, and with that on I sure didn't need a bra for support. Not with my small chest. I maybe showed too much contour, but nothing indecent I thought.

I also had leotard bottoms, like a hot-pink set of panty-hose. Over that, I had a black mini-skirt and a little black half-vest (which helped my modesty a little, up top). It was a very teen-aged-girl outfit, particularly with all that midriff showing, but I _was_ a teenage girl. Surely it didn't hurt to remind people of that.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Lee-san!" I called, waving my arm.

"Who?" He turned to look my way. "Who?"

"An opening!" Gai shouted.

It was a move that I thought to be practically telegraphed, but Gai had already been descending in his leap. Now he whipped his legs around in a crashing circle kick.

"What?"

Lee looked back in time to twist, putting his arms up to block. Still, the kick caught him across the arms and stomach. He shot toward the ground like a missile, cratering the ground and producing a huge cloud at the impact site.

Gai used the extra momentum to gain some height in his leap, hopping toward me.

"Miss, you really shouldn't interrupt our practice like that. If we weren't all skilled shinobi – _Sakura?!_"

Lee suddenly popped up out of his crater. "Sakura-san?"

Tenten flicked her wrist to roll up and sheath a weapons scroll. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Hmph," I answered in kind. "Like a girl can't put on a casual outfit once in a while?"

"Yes," Neji agreed, staring at me. "There is something different about her. But what? It's subtle…"

I don't care how influential the Hyuga clan is. Those eyes are creepy when they're all bugged out like that.

"One minute, please." I waved a finger at the rest of the team. "Neji?"

I put my arm around him in an overly-familiar fashion as we moved a short distance away.

"Neji," I said quietly and confidentially, "I heard this rumor. Does the _byakugan_ see through clothes?"

"It would be inappropriate for me to even hint at clan secrets."

"Neji, if you want to avoid crippling damage, from virtually every woman in the village, you'll listen to me right now."

"Y-yes?" He almost sounded intimidated.

"Never, _never_ have anything to do with Jiraiya when he comes back! Understand me?"

He gulped. "Understood."

I hopped up and down, waving my arm in victory. "I win! I win! I just saved Konoha!"

"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Tenten asked suspiciously.

"Oh, sorry." I'd have to remember to tone down my famous "free eats" jutsu. "Lee, are you okay?"

"Sakura-san!"

He instantly appeared in front of me, as if teleported. He even saluted. But his eyes (a martial artist always watches the eyes) his eyes played up and down my body. It was actually kind of nice.

"Sakura-san—" Tears began to leak from his eyes. "You're … so … beautiful!"

_Ah, success!_ The outfit I'd label "Sasuke Trap #1" had passed its first field test. Unfortunately, when it came to testing hot outfits, Lee was a D-rank mission. Sasuke, unfortunately, was A-rank. Maybe worse.

I clutched my hands together, gathering them winsomely under my chin. "Lee-san, I have a teensy favor to ask you…"

"Anything for you, Sakura-san! Anything!"

"Lee!" Gai commanded, "Do not forget the commitments we have to our missions, and to the defense of this village! Although, surely some leeway could be allowed, to indulge in that brief sweet season in which burns the beautiful flame of youth!" He, also, began to cry. "Go, Lee! Go and pursue your dreams! I will cover for you!"

"Uh, that's okay, Sir." Jeez, that guy (that Gai?) is really hard to interrupt! "It's just a quick favor. I just want to find out where Lee gets those great ankle weights."

Gai's eyes opened wide. "Ah! Kakashi's former student now seeks the advantage gained by strength and endurance training! I knew it! I knew that someday, my inherent superiority would be recognized!"

I ignored the totally predictable rant, while I focused on Lee's words.

"Sakura-san, my current weights might be too heavy for you, but I'd be … pleased …" He began to almost quiver. "…more than pleased, if you would wear some of my older weights."

"You kept them?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, I hoped that someday they might make a romantic … I mean, a gift… that someone could use them."

Using all my accumulated maturity and strength of will, I refrained from rolling my eyes. This dude really needed to work on his romantic technique.

"That would be so sweet, Lee! Thank you." As with any martial arts move, follow-through is crucial. Whether punching, or exercising scam-fu. "So, how much weight are you carrying right now? Although you're right, it would probably be too much for me to start with."

"Five hundred kilos," he admitted. "On each leg."

"Wow!" I said. "That's incredible! How do you get that so compact?"

"I don't know. They're made in Sand Country. Little pellets, like lead shot, but a lot heavier."

"Yeah, I'll have to work up to that. But if you have anything smaller…" He grinned like an idiot. "And I'll need a second set, a little lighter, for my arms."

"That would make me…so happy!" he admitted, manfully trying to hold back the tears which were even now brimming in his eyes.

I linked my arm in his. "Then lead the way!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Jeez, Forehead," Ino griped at me, "decided you couldn't compete with me? You needed a bunch of smutwear?"

"I love you too, Ino," I told her. "And this outfit is no worse than that purple thing you usually wear these days! It's just… things are fine for you girls that are top-heavy. The rest of us need to be a bit more creative."

"Sasuke's not even here, you know," she said, flat on her back in bed. "You don't need the weapons of mass distraction yet."

"It's called training. So I know what works and what doesn't when I finally catch up with him."

She turned her head to the wall. It was just as well. We both knew that I couldn't compete with her in looks. That's always been one of the sore spots in our friendship. Ino has always been popular and beautiful. She beat me in every category – her face, her hair, her figure – it just gets discouraging. So I have to try twice as hard, and I have to make sure I've got a cuter personality. That's tough sometimes, particularly when I just want to clout some idiot on the skull. Hmmm, why was I suddenly thinking of a blond with whisker marks?

I decided it was time to rebuild a few bridges with my best friend. Maybe, as Sakura, I'd forgotten a little of what my friends meant to me. As Ranma, I certainly had a new appreciation for how precious a true friend can be.

I pulled out a chair and sat down to visit.

"So I wore this outfit when I headed over to Team 10's practice…"

She turned to face me. "You didn't!"

"I did! And you know those rumors about Hyuga eyes? So Neji sees me and says, 'There's something different about her. But what?'"

"You're kidding!"

So we chatted for a while, becoming familiar with one another again.

"Know what?" she asked. "Soon as I'm discharged, let's hit the bars. We'll drag some other girls along – someone like Hinata! That'd be great!"

"Ino!" I was scandalized. "None of us are old enough to drink!"

"What do you think jutsus are for? A little transformation _henge_, and we're in! If we can't even sneak into a bar, neither one of us deserves our chunin rank!"

"Well…" I decided to change the subject. "Hey, Ino, are you still interested in apprenticing as a medic-nin?"

"Afraid of the competition?"

I snorted. I had no lack of confidence in my abilities there!

"Well, I mentioned it a little to Tsunade-hime, and she was interested in taking on an apprentice – if I'd recommend her."

Ino's eyes went wide and she suddenly sat up. "Shit, girl, are you serious? Tsunade? Wait, 'if you recommend me'? What's the catch?"

"Well, she'll probably want you to consider it for a few weeks, to make sure you're really serious." Then I got smug. "But the big thing is, you'd be second to me!"

Ino flopped back down. "Forehead, why do you _do_ these things to me?"

I reached out for her hand. "Ino, are you serious about this? Because there's no better teacher than the Hokage. I've been around the hospital for coming up on two years now. She's the _best_."

"Yeah, and I get to spend the whole time as your number two girl? I know how that'll turn out. I'll get to be your go-fer all the time."

"I certainly do enough of that for the Hokage," I admitted.

"Which is a hell of a lot better than doing it for _you!_"

"So… you interested?"

Ino blew through the bangs that draped over the right side of her face. "It's not like I did that great on our last mission. Shikamaru and Temari did all the work. I just fluffed the entire thing. But it's not like my skills are any good in combat, you know? I mean, I'm awesome on reconnaissance, or information gathering. But combat? No way. Which is what got me thinking that if I became a medic-nin, I'd have a two-fer. Medic-nins don't usually fight, do they? So I'd be perfect before, and perfect afterward, and during the combat, I'd be as good as I ever was."

I nodded. "During my training, the Hokage once told me, 'The medical ninja should _never_ be hit by the enemy's attack. When you face an opponent, evasion is your first priority.' Of course, she used that as an excuse to hit me with everything she had. 'Now you're going to learn to evade!' she yelled, while doing her best to cave my skull in."

Ino was quiet. "It just seems to make so much sense. It matches my style. And longer-term, if I got hurt, I'd still have a job."

"Oh, yeah," I agreed. "The doctors here are great, but they don't have the chakra control of a real medic-nin. So there would always be a place for you."

"And later," Ino continued, "when I start a family … what better preparation could I have? Those little scrapes and bruises, all that worry about poisons and strange food."

I was blushing pretty violently at that point. "Yeah," I agreed. "It's hard not to think about that, isn't it?"

"So… yes. Hell, yes! I'm grabbing the opportunity even if I have to be your second! Because, you know what? I'm just so fantastic that soon enough the Hokage will recognize my fine qualities and promote me, and then I'll be chief apprentice and you can be my second! Ha ha ha ha!"

"You sure, Ino? You've got time to think it over. Tsunade-sama wants you to take another mission with your team first, so you'll have a chance to consider it and even talk about it with them, if you need to."

"Won't matter," the blonde insisted. "You aren't going to talk me out of this one!"

I squeezed her hand and smiled. "Good. Because you won't actually be my second – I'm asking for a transfer to field duty."

"You … you set me up? And you call _me_ a pig! Why you! You're just afraid of the competition, aren't you?"

I smiled at my best friend, knowing that everything would be alright. "Oh, I _was_ going to be first apprentice. Believe me, I spent many pleasant hours contemplating that. But for … personal reasons … I've decided to get back into field work."

Ino smiled up at me, doubly happy now that her choice was solid, and the path ahead was clear. "You know what this means, don't you?"

"What?"

"Now I _have_ to take you for a drink. We can talk about new assignments, and missions and whether you've finally lost your virginity!"

"Ino!"

"Don't think I missed your comment yesterday. 'Healing is the second best thing I ever felt.' I'll drag it out of you!"

"I didn't mean _that!_ I'm… waiting."

"Right, just like Hinata, huh?"

"What was I thinking?" I asked myself.

"Maybe if Temari is in town, she can join us. She can be a bit harsh, but underneath she's pretty okay."

I dropped my face into my hands, trying to imagine a worse situation, and failing.

END OF CHAPTER 2

Next chapter: Sakura's home life, discoveries about how her skills and powers are changing, and the girls go drinking. The topic of discussion? Konoha's number one love interest, Uzumaki Nartuto!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After nearly a week of virtual house arrest at the Hokage's tower, I finally made it back home. Predictably, Mom was eager to talk. After all, we hadn't seen each other in days!

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Honey," she said, wrapping me in her strong arms. "They said it wasn't serious, but a mother always worries."

"Ah, you know how it is at the hospital, Mom."

I grabbed a piece of toast for my lunch. While I was at the fridge, I decided to put something on my toast. I added some cheese, a little ham, a little lettuce, maybe a little more ham…

"Yes, and I'm so impressed with you, dear. It was such a relief to have you away from those dangerous assignments. And that team of yours!"

"Mom…" We'd been through this more than a few times before.

"I honestly don't know which is worse! That Uchiha boy, or," she gave a shudder "Uzumaki. We all know about _him!_"

"They're my _friends_, Mom." I decided there was too much meat for just one sandwich, and got out some more bread.

"I know that. But for now they're away on missions of their own, and your poor mother can get some relief. They aren't back anytime soon, are they?"

"You know I can't tell you that. Even if I knew, stuff like that is supposed to be _secret_."

"Yes, well…"

"So how've you been, Mom? Anything interesting going on?"

I spotted… pickled plums? My favorite! I put a half dozen on the plate beside my three sandwiches.

"Well, we've got some new ideas for the reconstruction…"

"What? You're kidding! It's been years!"

"Yes, but there are still a few families moving out. They think it would be safer in a regular village. The 'lightning rod effect' they're calling it. I say, good riddance! But the empty houses give us some opportunities."

"Mmmm hmmm." I couldn't really talk. The sandwich was a bit thick.

"You remember that we wanted to make the streets all twisted and convoluted, so strangers couldn't find their way through town? With the new building purchases, we're moving to stage two of that plan. We'd always intended it, but we're making the streets look more like each other, so that, unless you're a native and _really_ know the area, you won't be able to tell which of the identical labyrinths you're actually in."

"—at's swell, Mom." I said around a large bite. The city construction committee means well, but most ninja just take to the roofs anyway.

"And in stage three, we're going to take care of foreign roof-hoppers."

That got my interest. "How are you managing that?"

"We're still working on ideas. Traps and the like, mostly. If you're not local, you won't know which roofs are trapped."

"Isn't that kind of a problem for the people living under that roof?"

"That's why the construction committee has to be involved, dear."

"Oh."

I had one of the plums. I just love the way they're so sour.

"I see you found the umeboshi, Dear. I was saving them for you. Since you're eating, don't forget to feed Mr. PussPuss."

"Okay."

On hearing his name, my ginger cat came running in and wound himself through my legs, as I stood at the counter eating my sandwiches.

For a moment, I froze. Stupidly, I hadn't associated my beloved pet's name with the fact that he was a _cat_. _A CAT!_

As Ranma, I'd been utterly traumatized by a childhood catastrophe. Calling it a "training accident," as my father preferred to put it, was ignoring the issue. In the name of martial arts, he'd dug a pit that was not so different from a Burmese Tiger Trap (only without the stakes), then thrown in about a thousand house cats (stolen from nearby villages). Then he'd left them to starve for a few days. Then he'd tossed in his six-year-old son. Me. Oh yeah, he smeared me with fish paste first, so I'd be extra tasty. Oh, and then he'd covered the whole pit with a manhole cover or something.

My recollection of the exact details are a bit fuzzy, due to the screaming and clawing and stuff that I was occupied with at the time.

Remarkably, I survived. Unsurprisingly, I didn't come out of the pit with a genius super-power, or the ability to have cat-like reflexes or anything. So, Dad buttered me up with squid paste and threw me back in.

After the sixth or seventh time, I figured out that I was going to either have to _learn_ a genius super-cat-power, or else Dad would keep throwing me back in the pit forever. Super cat powers are tough to learn, but I had considerable motivation. Looking back on it, I think my mind just snapped. I didn't really have the ability to move like a cat, or create cat claws out of solidified ki – I only thought I did.

I smiled, thinking back on it. I remembered shredding all sorts of stuff with those claws – trees, wooden swords, the gym floor, geysers of solidified water. So I guess the claws weren't entirely imaginary.

I blinked, realizing that in my distraction I'd squatted down to pet Mr. PussPuss. He was purring, and I was happy.

That made me blink a few times. What wasn't I terrified?

For that matter, how could I remember those things I'd done in the neko-ken?

I deliberately picked up Mr. PussPuss and stroked him, marveling at the ability to touch a cat. To be happy with my pet, instead of terrified. As a reward for him being such a fine cat, I opened a tin of the good food and fed it to him.

Mom, meanwhile, was continuing with the plans for rebuilding Konoha.

"…new buildings, we're going to be making some of the roofs entirely inaccessible to ninja."

"Nice plan, Mom, but how are you going to do that? Particularly when just about any chunin can walk straight up the wall?"

She looked a bit taken aback. "Really? I've seen some do it, but any chunin? You mean, you can do that?"

"Mom, I've been walking up walls for years now. It's old hat. _Tons_ easier than walking on water. Look—"

I lifted a foot to the wall. This was a little harder than normal, because I had those weights on my ankle. But a little ki funneled more than enough strength to my leg. Then I let some chakra out, to anchor my foot to the wall.

SPARK!

The jolt almost threw me across the room.

"What was _that?_" Mom yelled.

"I…don't know." My leg was still spasming. "Give me a second… I want to try it again."

"Don't hurt yourself, Dear!"

"Mom, I'm a genin ninja of Konohagakure no Sato! I've been walking on walls and ceilings for years! I'm a chakra _master!_ I know what I'm doing!"

I carefully lifted my leg to the wall…

SPARK!

…and found myself thrown across the room.

"And one other thing," I finally admitted. "I've been working on some new … experiments … with the Hokage. Apparently they've completely messed up my chakra control."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was early, but I took my time cleaning up while I thought about all the implications. If my chakra was messed up – what good was I to anyone? My whole reason for dredging up Ranma's life was to make myself a better ninja, not a worse one. And now, if his memories were screwing up my chakra…

Or maybe it was remembering the neko-ken? That psycho technique was enough to screw up anything. But the memories no longer seemed to be bothering me. But Mr. PussPuss had been there in the room, both times, though he'd jumped with each "spark."

I wasn't sure what the sparks meant, but they'd burned a lot of chakra, and left a scorch mark on the wall. As well as doing some nasty damage _inside_ my foot. My medic training let me see exactly where my flesh had been cauterized. Ugg.

Still in the shower, I let water flow over the burn. Even the lukewarm water was almost too hot. Worried, I placed my hand over the site and pushed in healing energy.

It took a moment to remember that healing used chakra, too.

But it seemed to have worked. Was my chakra back to normal? I was trained enough and flexible enough to balance on one foot, while I pulled up the other, to look at my heel.

Everything seemed okay on that foot. Even the lukewarm water no longer stung.

I healed the other foot, while pondering. Healing was working okay. Was it just wall-walking?

I dreaded the experience, but had to try it again. I shut off the shower, and toweled most of the water off me. Then I raised a foot, oh so delicately, and stepped against the wall. Next, I pushed some chakra through the soles of my feet, into the walls.

They stuck. Just like normal.

Testing myself, I walked up the wall and hung upside down in the mirror, while I finished drying, and did my hair. It's different, brushing out your hair while you hang upside down.

Just to check myself, I dressed while standing on the ceiling. I put on another one of my new outfits. Ranma had a definite thing for mini-skirts. I remembered what they were, but we didn't really have fashions like the ones in his world. The leotard had been the closest match, but even that wasn't exactly the same. Typical leotards in Ranma's world didn't have so much mesh.

Still, I let my older memories push my fashion choice. Even before I started this intensive physical training, I think my legs were maybe my second-best feature, after my hair. If I could get them really toned… maybe I could make even Ino jealous.

So to show off my legs, I had a cheongsam. Really it was a qipao – the female version of the garment – except that it was sleeveless and very short. That, along with the slit up the side, made it seem like it would be immodest for fighting in, but if Shampoo had managed it back in Ranma's day, so would I. I also had arm bands in a matching fabric, and slipper shoes, like Ranma had always preferred.

Not only did the dress show off my legs, it was completely impractical for ninja-wear. Except… if you were good enough, that shouldn't be a problem. I'd just finished slipping into the dress, upside down. The hem should have been falling down, quite immodestly. But the same chakra trick that let me cling to the ceiling allowed me hold my hemline in place. The tiniest bit of chakra imaginable, issued from the top of the thigh – that chakra caused the clothing to cling there.

Later, when I had more ki, I'd use the same trick Kodachi had used on her ribbons. If you have enough ki, you can channel it down a rope or ribbon or chain, and control their movements. They can be almost alive. Applied to clothing, it could assume whatever hang and drape you wanted, even if you were standing upside down.

If you had enough ki. Maybe in a few days.

I tromped downstairs to see Mom again.

"Young lady! What is that outfit?"

I sighed. "It's a perfectly normal outfit, Mom."

"Well it doesn't look like any outfit I've seen around here!"

"That's because Konoha is a ninja village, Mom. All the girls here dress like ninja."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing! And I'm sure not ashamed of being a ninja or anything. It's just… there was a time when being a ninja used to mean being _sneaky_, you know? We were a little less obvious about things. I mean, walking into town with a two meter iron fan strapped to your back – it's kind of obvious, don't you think?"

Mom didn't get it. "But… ninja are popular! Especially in Fire Country! I've been to other villages, like Hachirogata and Ugo. The girls there dress like ninja, too. It's popular!"

"Yeah," I agreed, "for wanna-bees. But there's other girls who don't dress like ninja. If I lived in Ikawa, I'd dress like this."

The cheongsam was made with almost a kimono-pattern. This one was white, with a scattering of pink cherry blossoms, that I'd fallen in love with for obvious reasons. Normally you only wear a sakura print in the springtime, but I felt justified wearing it year-round. Anyway, I'd been named because the blossoms matched my hair, so the color on the dress was almost exactly right.

"But… but… you don't look anything like a proper kunoichi!"

"And that's the whole point!"

"But when you jump around and stuff, won't all the boys see up your skirt?"

I smirked. "Allow me to demonstrate."

Being triple-cautious this time, I placed my foot against the wall. No strange spark. With a sigh of relief I walked up the wall and stood on the ceiling.

"See?"

"Why isn't your skirt falling down?"

"Because I'm a ninja!"

"But all the boys will be staring at you!"

"Mom? _Duh_."

"Oh." She smiled. "_Oh!_"

So I spent a little quality time with the family. I sat on the couch with Mr. PussPuss curled beside me. It still rather freaked me out that I wasn't freaked out.

I had my sewing in my lap, while I gossiped with mom. She liked to hear all the rumors and talk from the hospital. One of those skills they never taught us in school was knowing what was safe to talk about, and what wasn't. But I'd figured that out long ago. Also the skill of rephrasing things, so that they were interesting, without being disturbing to the audience. I know, it seems like stupid stuff, but these were things that I'd learned as Sakura, and that Ranma had never mastered. I'd been a martial arts genius, but until the day I died I hadn't been able to open my mouth without blurting out something stupid.

"So what are you working on, dear?"

"Training weights. I got these from Rock Lee. You know, he wears that green spandex outfit?"

"Oh, yes. Nice boy. Very sincere."

I shuddered. "Yeah, Mom. Sure. Anyway, his wrist weights are filled with these little pellets. I'm moving the pellets into something more fashionable, like the wrist bands that go with my dress. I'm going to fix up my slippers, too."

I'd need some dexterity training to get back to my peak form in martial arts tailoring. At my best, I'd made an automatic sewing machine look like it was standing still. Hmm, I'd have to master the _amaguriken_ in this body, too. But simple sewing was a step in the right direction, provided that I concentrating on improving my speed and accuracy.

"Heavy shoes? I hope that doesn't tire you out too much during your hospital rounds."

"Uh, yeah. About that. I'm going to be leaving the hospital and doing more field work."

"Are you sure you ought to, Dear? You've got a very prestigious spot in the hospital."

"Yeah. I've pretty much finished my training with the Hogake. I've almost matched her skill, Mom. In two years, I've learned all her techniques! There's still stuff to learn – some more anatomy, diseases, I'll be years learning all the herbs. Oh, and I've barely scratched the surface with toxicology." I laughed at my own joke. "But the personal training – I'm done."

My mother set down the book she'd been flipping through. "Sakura," she said seriously. "I want you to reconsider."

"Huh? Mom, I've already discussed it with the Hokage."

"She'd let you stay, at the hospital. I know she would. You really ought to think about that."

"I've done missions before, Mom. It's no big deal." Particularly once I get decent with my _Anything Goes_ techniques.

"I'm thinking about your future, Honey, and as your parent I have a say in this."

I squinted at my sewing, refusing to look up at her. "Go ahead," I said tightly.

"Well, you have to consider what kind of family you want to have. You know what they say, 'For her first husband, every woman wants a ninja. For her second, a doctor.' And why do you suppose that is?"

I did _not_ want to talk about husbands right then. Besides, there was Sasuke. Not that I was going to marry him, or any boy. And Mom had made her opinion of the Uchiha clan clear enough, on more than one occasion. But if she wouldn't talk about Sasuke, I didn't want to talk about her scheme – whatever it was.

But she wasn't waiting for my participation. "Ninja are dashing, exciting heroes. And they do make good husbands. I have nothing bad to say about your father. Except for the fact that he died at such a young age, just like so many other ninja seem to do. But at least your father started a family, first."

I discovered that cheap sewing needles snap way too easily. "Mooom…" I began to growl.

"So what happens if a good ninja boy gets you pregnant and then goes and gets himself killed. Maybe for your second husband, you'll want someone whose life is a little more stable."

I just kept sewing, ignoring the fact that my knuckles where turning white. "We are not getting into another discussion of my love life!"

"I'm not trying to interfere, Honey. But you already work in a hospital, I just thought that you could skip some of the heartbreak and agony. I was talking to my friend Ryoka the day before yesterday, and she was telling me about how many interns are single—"

"STOP IT! We are not discussing ANY of this until Sasuke-kun comes back!"

"You mean, IF he comes back! Listen to the talk in Konoha! Those Uchiha were always way too arrogant! They were worse than the Hyuga! And the village isn't exactly eager to have the 'Butcher Clan' move back in. Next time they go on a killing spree, what then? Is he just going to kill his wife? Will you be the only one to die, Sakura? Or maybe you and your children? Or maybe, maybe he'll turn his anger outward and kill a bunch of his neighbors. Tell me, will I count as part of the clan? Will he have to kill me, too, when he goes mad? It's in the blood, you know."

"Stop it! Please stop it!" I was crying now, unable to make her understand. Sasuke was nothing like his brother. Nothing!

"Sakura," she rose, moving closer to me. "I don't want you to be unhappy. That's why I want you to think about these things. Better some worry today, than disaster tomorrow. I know how you feel about the boy. Back in my day, all of us were so taken with the sannin – I, like several of my girlfriends, was completely taken with the coolly imperturbable pale member of the sannin."

I looked up in horror. I couldn't believe it! Mom had had a crush on Orochimaru? Other girls did, too? How the hell could you possibly find that fiend attractive?

"We were in our teens, just like you. He wasn't yet 30, and he already had so many accomplishments to his name. So much power and knowledge and fame. And he was always so cool and controlled. Each of us dreamed that _we_ would be the one to break his façade, to rouse him to passion."

The thought was revolting.

"But that wouldn't have worked at all, would it? Looking back, I can only wonder what I was thinking. And Honey, I see you following my same path. The only difference is … I never had a real chance with Orochimaru. He never even knew who I was. But you—"

I rammed on my slippers and jumped to my feet.

"I – I have to go!" My voice was ragged. "I'll be out late with Ino, maybe some other friends. I-- Bye Mom."

And I fled the house, without giving her so much as a hug.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"What's with that look?" Ino demanded. "I swear, just when I think you can't get any weirder…"

"It's what girls our age wear over in Ikawa. A lot of other villages, too."

"Yeah, so? This is Konoha."

I frowned. She was as bad as my mother about some things. "Doesn't anyone remember when ninja were supposed to blend in, instead of wearing something that screamed, 'Hey! Ninja here!'"

We stopped to pick up Hinata, which was almost a mistake. You have to wonder what they did inside that walled Hyuga compound. What secret were they hiding? Of course, being a ninja, perhaps I could find out. On the other hand, they were mostly ninja, and better than me. Hmmm, maybe I'd just ask Hinata.

Hinata wore her typical over-sized coat, and as usual, seemed to be trying to sink back into it and vanish. I swear, if you've seen the girl fight you know that she's a damned killing machine. She matched Neji blow for blow, and at points her hands and arms were moving too fast to see. She's one of the most dangerous people I know, and she spends her life as meek as a mouse.

"We were just talking about Sakura's new look," Ino said, hooking her thumb back at me.

_Hmm, _I thought._ If I could surgically extract half of Ino's confidence, and implant it in Hinata … they'd both be better off!_

"It's…very pretty," the shy girl offered. There was the bare edge to her tone, as if it was wrong that I should look pretty.

"Thanks, Hinata." I thanked her honestly, hoping to ease any tension. "I'd blend right in Ikawa. I'm trying to go back to when ninja dressed to be anonymous, rather than stand out."

She nodded, tentatively. "I've never tried to wear anything that flashy," she admitted. "And, I think my clothes would look normal, almost anywhere."

"Well…" Ino began. "This is Fire Country. What's with the heavy coat? Don't you get hot in there?"

"It's…comfortable."

We meandered along the street, checking out likely bars. I wonder if Ino had mentioned that aspect to Hinata.

From Ranma's memories, I kept expecting to see some small car come puttering by, but that was that world, not this one.

"That place," Ino decided, pointing.

I looked. It was the "Kosugi Inn – Refreshments and Entertainment."

"But…we aren't old enough to go in there," Hinata said, with some confusion.

"Transformation technique," Ino answered. "Come on, are you telling me that you guys never did this back in the academy? Transformation was the graduation test! Once you mastered it, you had to test it by sneaking into a bar. It's like a tradition!"

Hinata and I both shook our heads.

"Oh, you two are just pathetic! I should have tried to cruise along with Anko or something."

I raised an eyebrow. "You hang out with Anko?"

"Someday, someday," Ino said, airily.

"I'm not sure…" Hinata began.

"Come on," my insane friend insisted. "It's training! Can you maintain your _henge_ after a couple of drinks? That alley would be just perfect."

So… Hinata and I allowed ourselves to be dragged along by Ino. And since pretty much every child who graduates the academy has mastered transformation (with the possible exception of Naruto), and since all three of us were more than competent with genjutsu, it only took a couple of quick hand signs before we'd changed.

Ino looked like herself. Perhaps three centimeters taller, and with her figure bumped up a notch everywhere. Same outfit, same everything. It was her, just a twenty-five-year-old Ino. Old enough that they wouldn't bother asking for ID.

Hinata had grown up, too. She had long black hair and brown eyes, but the same face, just adjusted up to look twenty-one. She'd switched outfits to a formal kimono.

And me? I'd picked Uc-chan. I was wearing Uc-chan at about 30, with her tight pants and abbreviated yukata. I'd skipped the bandolier or giant spatula she typically carried. That was a little more conspicuous than I wanted to be. The trick to good transformations is an attention to detail, and in my life as Ranma I'd had _plenty_ of exposure to Uc-chan.

"Ino," I asked in exasperation, "why transform at all if you're going to transform into _yourself?_"

She shrugged. "It always worked before."

So, with the extrovert leading the way, we trooped into the bar. We were earlier than the dinner rush, but only by an hour or so. The place was finished inside with rough-sawn planking of some dark wood, and lit by oil lamps everywhere. It was dark and warm, and had plenty of mood but looked like a firetrap to me.

"Ladies! Lovely ladies! Half price, if you sit at the bar up front."

Ino shook her head. "Not worth it. We're looking for booze, not companionship. Got a table in back?"

"Certainly, miss. One kunoichi, and two associates. Right this way."

"Start us off with a pitcher of Green Mountain Beer, and three glasses. Come back in thirty minutes."

"Right away."

Once we were served and settled, Ino leaned back and relaxed like an old pro. "Okay, girls, drink up. This is the good stuff. I love Green Mountain. The trick is to pace yourself, and move to the cheaper swill as the night goes on. By then, you'll be half sloshed, and won't care so much."

Hinata and I shared a grimace that left me knowing that while Ino might be anticipating getting drunk off her butt, Hinata and I would be holding back.

"Hey," I said easily. "Be a pig. I'll just call you P-chan."

I blinked at that. Did I end up calling my rival a pig in every life? Maybe I was getting stuck in a rut. On the other hand, if _I_ got reincarnated… I squinted at Ino-pig, trying to imagine her as Ryoga.

"Ino… you've never had any problems getting lost, or finding your way around, have you?"

She brushed back her blonde locks as she up-ended her glass. "What are you talking about? Of course not!"

"Oh. Good."

I decided that even the fates couldn't be _that_ cruel.

"Not that I don't appreciate the company," Hinata spoke up, "but why me?"

"Why'd we drag you out here?" Ino clarified, taking another healthy swallow of her beer, "Because we belong together, the three of us. Maybe the nine of us – the famous 'rookie nine.' But this felt like a girls' night, you know?"

"Yes," Hinata agreed. "Those were interesting times. I often think of those days."

She had a bit of a blush to her face, and I wondered why. She'd always been a shy girl. I remembered how embarrassed I was when Naruto was yelling encouragement down to her, during her fight with Neji.

Hmmm. There was something there, at the corner of my mind…

Curious, I decided to poke at Hinata a bit more. In a friendly sort of way.

"So what _does_ go on behind the secret walls of the Hyuga compound?" I wondered. "Are you practicing secret assassination techniques, or foul bloodline experiments, or all you just all walking around in the buff?"

Hinata's face didn't react, but she seemed to twitch just a hair when I got to the third suggestion.

She realized instantly that she'd betrayed herself. "It's not like what you're describing!"

"Oh my God," I realized, "it's _true!_"

"What?" Ino demanded. "That they walk around in the buff? That's just a story!"

"No," I said, "I get it now! I was wearing this wild outfit earlier, remember Ino? And I stopped by to visit Team Ten. Tenten was disturbed. Rock Lee almost self-combusted—"

Ino grinned. "You _do_ know that he's madly in love with you, right?"

I scowled at her. "Sorry, I missed that. I think he was too subtle."

"Oh, you!"

"Anyway," I continued, "Neji just looked at me and said there was something different about me."

"Yes," Hinata agreed. "That's been bothering me, too. And once I figured it out, it bothered me even more."

"So I went up to Neji, and accused him of using the _byakugan_ to see through my clothes."

"You shouldn't blame him," Hinata said. "He can't help it."

But Ino couldn't wait. "Yeah, you never finished that part of the story, yesterday. What happened? What'd he say? What did you do to him? That pervert!"

I leaned forward. "I took him aside," I lowered my voice, "and I told him…"

"YES?" Ino demanded.

"That he'd better stay away from Jiraiya!"

"What? Oh, what a waste! Next time I see him, he's going to get such a pounding! That perv!"

Hinata just sat back with her typical small smile.

"You said he couldn't help it," I mentioned, casually.

"It's not a clan secret," the quiet girl admitted. "Although we aren't loud about it. I have to inform the clan leader that you two know this. And I'm supposed to ask you to keep quiet about it. It's because the _byakugan_ is one of the defenses of Konoha."

"Huh," Ino replied, articulately, while guzzling a bit more beer.

"Long ago," Hinata explained, demurely, "when the bloodline was first created, ninja often came in disguise, as you mentioned Sakura-san. The _byakugan_ was developed to spot them, and to spot dangers to the village, or to a target we were protecting. I can _see_ clothes, but they're usually just outlines unless I concentrate. What I can see is every weapon you have, Ino, and where you hid them."

"And Sakura, too, right?" Ino demanded.

"She is, surprisingly, unarmed."

That caught my interest. The _byakugan_ couldn't see through the hidden weapons technique!

"So," I asked casually, "you could see the weapons on that guy at the end of the bar?"

She nodded. "And the bartender."

"Left sleeve and left breast pocket, right?"

"Yes," she agreed. "And one in his shoe."

"Konoha," Ino commented. "You gotta love it."

With the ice broken by the revelation of the Hyuga clan family secret (or at least one of them), Hinata began to unbend a little. She had blossomed from the shy retiring girl of two years ago. Now, she was ever-so-slightly less shy.

Under severe coaxing, we got Hinata to reveal some of the things she'd done and places she'd been. Ino followed up on that, telling about her latest mission and how disgusted she was with herself. She talked about getting her face cut.

"I was lucky I didn't lose an eye," she admitted. "It's enough to make you think twice about getting back into the game. So I guess my decision comes from a lot of things. I'd be a better help to my team, maybe I can save someone else's face, and I think I need a break from combat. I'm thinking … I'm thinking that guys like Lee, and Neji, and even Choji, on my team, they rush ahead. They live for the in-your-face combat. And I can do that, but I'm nowhere as good as them. And if I can't be great at it, maybe it's dumb to be poking my face into danger every day, 'cause I'm going to pay for it, sooner or later."

"But you are great, for some missions," Hinata insisted. "You can leap across a moat and unlock a castle gate, you can capture a spy on another hill."

"How far away can you catch someone, Ino?" I asked.

"Half a kilometer, but I'm working on increasing the distance."

"That's very impressive," Hinata said, supportively. She even turned to smile at me, then seemed to remember something and her face went flat again.

"Okay, what's going on?" I demanded.

"For just a moment, I didn't recognize you."

"Yeah," Ino agreed, "Forehead pulled a pretty good transformation. Voice, too. Nice touch!"

I had decided that if I was going to do Uc-chan, I'd do her all the way.

"Yes, but…" Hinata paused, unsure whether to continue. "…your chakra points have moved. It's very disturbing. I look at you and don't recognize you at first."

"Hey," Ino protested, "I thought you had to do the fully _byakugan_ to see chakra points."

"For targeting and to see the chakra flow in the body, yes. But just for recognizing people, no."

"I'm curious," I said. "You can take a full look, if you want. Has my chakra changed significantly?"

I saw a fleeting shadow of distaste on Hinata's face. She turned toward me and made a quick hand seal, almost whispering the word, "_Byakugan_."

And she studied me for a moment. "This is impossible. It's _impossible!_ What have you done?"

"What do you see?"

"Your chakra – your chakra points have moved, the flow has changed. It's faster and smoother in some places, more turbulent in others. It's like you were a completely different person!"

Ino began to scoot back, reaching for a weapon.

Hinata continued. "But worst of all – you're not completely different. I recognize you, Sakura, but changed so much!"

Well, crap. There goes the whole show. I'd discussed this with Tsunade-sama, since she'd anticipated this moment.

They key point was to lead people away from the idea that she had a reincarnation _jutsu_. But as for the reincarnation itself, that was fair game.

"Alright girls, lean forward," I confided. "Big secret, and I don't really want to tell anyone. Hinata, can you check for eavesdroppers?"

The lavender-eyed girl scrutinized our surroundings, though she only turned her head slightly. "We're clear," she told me, with a suspicious tone.

"Thanks. I wasn't kidding about this being huge. It's part of the reason I'm mustering out as Tsunade's apprentice.

"You know that healing can be dangerous, sometimes?"

They nodded, leaning in close.

"Well, I tried a technique that _killed_ me." Which was pretty much true. "For some heart repairs, you have to stop the heart from beating, so you can work on it." True, but unrelated. "And I ended up stopping _my_ heart." True, but deceptive. Now for the big finish. "I hovered in that place that's not alive and not dead, and when I returned, I brought a previous life back with me.

"It's all very confusing – those memories are different, but weird. It wasn't our world. People were different in ways that are hard to describe. On the good side, I think I might have some idea about new techniques to try. On the bad side, my chakra control may be a little messed up – I'm not sure. Anyway, that's why I'm going back to field duty, to experiment and learn. I'm still getting untangled, mentally, and I think I need the solid reality of active work to straighten myself out."

Hinata snorted.

Ino just stared. "You're shitting me."

I held up my hand, as if pledging. "It's true."

"But like I said, if I can figure out something useful from this, it might really help Konoha. And face it, girls, with all the forces lined up against us, the village can use any help it gets."

Ino nodded, emphatically, but sloppily. "I'll drink to that!"

"So, Hinata," I asked, "does that ease your suspicion of me?"

"I suppose." And yet, it seemed to me that there was still a sullen cast to her mood.

"So Sakura-chan's learning new secret jutsu! Maybe we really will have another sannin!"

"Huh?" Hinata and I were both derailed by that out-of-the-blue comment. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on! Everyone talks about it! The sannin – the legendary three ninja. Who did we have? Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade. It was like, they had their fingers in everything, one of the other of them. And now, what do we have? Sasuke is Orochimaru's apprentice, Naruto is Jiraiya's apprentice, and Sakura-chan is with Tsunade. And the three of them are smack dab in the middle of the biggest trouble we've seen in a generation. And now, Sakura's got this new thing going. Is it going to be important? Shya. Most likely!"

I blinked. "The three… _apprentices?_"

"Oh, come on!" Ino bellowed. "Like you never noticed? Don't try to make me think you never figured it out!"

"Well, Sasuke and Naruto," I admitted, "sure. But _me?_"

"And that's what your problem is," Hinata burst out, unexpectedly. "You're so _blind!_"

Huh? Why was she so angry at me?

"Hinata," I asked gently, "what are you talking about?"

Maybe the beer had loosened her tongue. Maybe she'd just been repressing herself too long. But in typical Hinata fashion, even when she was exploding, she couldn't bring herself to say too much.

"You just don't see a thing!" she fumed at me. "You…you have what other people would die for, and you just throw it away!"

I looked at Ino in confusion. "Is this about being Tsunade's apprentice? Because Ino's going to move into that role now. That's what we're here to celebrate."

Hinata was almost crying now, which is pretty devastating with those huge eyes of hers. "You have people who would _die_ for you, and can you even be bothered to spare them a kind word!"

What did that have to do with being Tsunade's apprentice?

"Do you mean Rock Lee?" I asked. "I was just talking to him. It's not like I agreed to go on a date or anything, but I was nice. I mean, I tried to be. And yeah, I know he has a thing for me. I guess I'm kind of sorry about that, 'cause despite the goofy haircut and green suit, he's a pretty decent guy. He deserves a little happiness. I'm not trying to lead him on. I've always been honest about where my heart lay." I looked at Ino. "Haven't I?"

"What, you mean draping yourself over Sasuke and saying, 'Take me, I'm yours'? Yeah, you were pretty obvious."

I flushed and took a sip of beer to cover my embarrassment.

Hinata just huffed at me and looked down.

"Look," I said, trying to reach out to her, "I'm sorry about Lee. What do you suggest I do? Okay, I admit I was a little immature back when we were all genin, but I've tried to get better and I—"

My words weren't affecting her in the least. I thought that asking for her suggestions on the problem would help, but if anything, she stiffened at that. So I was talking away, while things percolated in the back of my mind, and suddenly all those little scenes jumped out at me. Her talking to us so nervously, never having half the confidence or aggression she'd shown now, at this table. And her sudden turn-around, in the chunin exam semi-finals. After that idiot Naruto had been yelling at her from the balcony, making such an embarrassing spectacle of himself.

It hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks.

"You like Naruto!" I realized.

"Jeez, you're right, Hinata," Ino slurred. "She _is_ blind!"

"He'd do anything to get your attention, and you just ignore him!" the lavender-eyed girl accused.

I was still busy realigning my worldview. Someone actually liked Naruto, and in a romantic way? This was too weird! I fumbled around, retreating and defending, as I tried to come to terms with this.

"Hey, it's better to ignore him than kill him, right? And you're right that he would do anything to get my attention. But you're acting like that's a good thing. Naruto's been over the top since we were kids. I mean, there _is_ such a thing as trying too hard!" I stared at Hinata. "I'll bet you'd agree with me, if you'd had to put up with even half what _I_ had to endure!"

The Hyuga girl sniffed. "I wish I had that chance."

"Come on," Ino demanded, taking another gulp from her mug. "Give with the details!"

"You want the truth?" I mumbled into my brew. "You can't handle the truth!"

"Naruto's pranks are sweet," Hinata insisted, "and funny, too!"

"Okay, you asked for it," I decided. "Let's see… dying my best dress orange? Why is he obsessed with that color?"

"It's his happy color," Hinata explained.

"Whatever. Tell me when all _your_ best clothes suddenly turn day-glo orange. Hmmm, the superglue lipstick? The perfume that turned out to be a love pheromone for Shino's bugs? The old 'toad in the toilet' trick? Believe me, that got old after the first seven times. Wait, I've got it!" I leaned forward, confidentially.

"It was on our first big mission," I revealed. "Our team was off in Wave Country. It was supposed to be a C-Rank mission, but it turned out to be A-Rank. Missing nins hired by a billionaire, sent to assassinate our client and anyone else who got in his way. I mean, we were facing one of the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and I knew that any or all of us could die without a moment's notice. Naruto and Sasuke were training, Kakashi was down, and I was all alone on a foggy bridge, guarding old man Tazuna and waiting for the moment when the missing nin would appear. Did I mention the 'Seven Swordsmen' part? His sword was longer than I was tall. He was in the bingo book, way up there! And for his genin graduation, he'd slaughtered the entire rest of the class. All of them, butchered in cold blood. And I was the only thing standing between this killer and our alcoholic client. So I stood there in the fog, waiting, listening, ready for anything. And absolutely worst of all…"

"Yes?" Ino breathed, hanging on every word.

"I was on my period. So I was terrified, cold, angry, achy, bloated, and just about ready to face the missing nin, just so I'd have something to kill. But then… something happened."

"What?" Hinata demanded.

"Smoke!" I answered. "The perfect cover for an assassin's entrance. Old man Tazuna noticed it a minute after I did. I couldn't tell where it was coming from – it was incredibly thick, coming from all around me. I was about to die of fright when Tazuna realized where the smoke was coming from!"

I paused to sip my drink, while the girls growled in frustration.

"He looked at me and said… 'It's coming from your dress!' And sure enough. Naruto had used smoke tags, and booby trapped my maxi-pads."

Hinata started to giggle.

"Oh, sure, laugh it up! Let's see how you react when he sabotages your hygiene products!"

"You're a ninja," Ino giggled. "I'd think you'd be able to figure out that there's a smoke tag going off in your panties!"

"Well," I said defensively, "I was only twelve. It was only the third time I'd gotten my cycle, so I wasn't entirely sure how everything worked."

Ino, the aptly-named pig, howled with glee.

"And now I can't even go back to Wave Country," I admitted, "because they still recognize me and call me 'hot pants.'"

Hinata was hiccupping now, and leveling a glare at me.

"What?"

"There are some girls," she explained with Hyuga haughtiness, "who would think it was just fine if Naruto played with their underthings."

"Oh, right. The kid's been training with the guy who writes _Icha Icha!_ He's probably even worse now! Let's see how you like it if he puts a smoke tag on your tampon!"

Hinata didn't seem mad at me anymore, but I didn't like the malicious giggles she sent in my direction.

"Our third big mission," I explained desperately, "shutting down some bandits outside of Otafuku Gai, we laid a trap for them. Naruto's part of the trap launched rocks, logs, even a pair of beehives."

"I always thought he was clever," Hinata loyally defended.

"…and when we got back to camp, I found every bra that I'd packed was missing!"

Ino almost spit up her beer. "Not like you need them anyway!"

"You can't use them once they've been stretched out for slingshots! And I'm supposed to put on a bra that's been holding beehives?" I clenched my hand. "The fist of righteous retribution got good use that day!"

"Hmph!" With my last sentence, Hinata turned from amused to sad. "You just can't see how funny it is."

"Oh, come on," I pleaded. "You know how much bras cost!"

"Well then," Hinata insisted, "send him over to play with _my_ bras! The truth is, for all you complain about him, Naruto would give you _anything!_ He's saved your life, probably a dozen times over. And every time, you just throw it back in his face!"

"No, that's not true! I—"

I had so many million examples of Naruto playing rude tricks on me. It was time to end this argument by proving how good I was to _him_. So I searched my mind for the perfect example, the perfect story to crush Hinata's stupid accusation. Some time when Naruto had really needed help and I'd been the one to graciously offer it.

But nothing came to mind. There had to be some time when I'd saved him… didn't there? Instead, all I could remember was insulting him. And I knew Naruto had a thing for me. He was a little more subtle than Lee, but that's not saying much. I tried my best to think of something selfless that I'd done for my friend. My irritating friend, but still my friend.

But all I could picture was scenes like that last big one. When I'd begged him to find Sasuke, and bring him back.

And Naruto promising.

Was I really that blind? I knew they were rivals. But it wasn't a rivalry over _me_, it was just between the two of them, right? I mean, what kind of girl would I be, to ask him to do that? To beg him to bring his rival back, so that I could cover Sasuke with affection and attention, and shove poor Naruto out in the cold.

That's exactly what I would have done. Truthfully, that's probably what I'd still do.

"I…"

Hinata was staring at me, accusingly. Her eyes are really good at staring.

"Okay," I admitted, "I wasn't entirely blind to how he felt. But I tried to be. I mean, I knew what Naruto wanted. But I needed Sasuke so bad… You don't know what that's like! It was just the three of us on Team Seven. And it seemed, sometimes, like if I pushed Naruto away a little, I was pushing myself closer to Sasuke."

My voice got quieter at the end as I realized just how damning my confession was.

I lay my stupid forehead down on the rough, cool wood of the tabletop.

"I'm a shit, aren't I?"

"You're the next sannin," Ino said. "People don't realize it yet, but they will. And soon, everyone's going to be watching you, talking about you, judging you." She gave a snort of disgust. "Hell, they'll probably write _books_ about you."

"I am such an asshole. He's my friend. And I've never done a thing for him. Not one thing."

In the back of my mind, I was still trying to defend my actions. _We were just kids! No more than thirteen! Of course I was immature!_

But that didn't mean that it hurt any less. I remembered, far too clearly, how much it had hurt each time Sasuke had called me "useless." I wasn't that bad to Naruto, was I? I couldn't have been!

And, like always, my mind replayed that final scene. I'd begged him to go after Sasuke, and he'd smiled that smile of his, and promised, and done it. Instantly.

That Naruto smile, masking everything he really felt, and putting on that happy, carefree face that cheered up everyone. Whether it was Ibiki's "cheater's test," or facing missing nin, being short of cash, or facing a life-and-death fight, my friend had always given me a grin and a lift and a little bit of his infinite confidence.

I could feel my eyes puffing up as I looked at Hinata. "What do I do? How do I make it up to him? I can't give him what he wants. I don't feel about him the way he feels…felt…about me."

"Just be his friend," Hinata urged. "You don't have to love him." Her voice dropped down. "Honestly, I'm happier that you don't. But be a real friend."

I realized something. "You know, Hinata… Maybe, back when we were kids, maybe for a while Naruto had a crush on me."

I was speaking aloud as I thought. It was just an indication of how much I'd changed. As Ranma, whenever I'd done this, it had triggered disaster of epic proportions. But as Sakura, somehow, my uncensored words were _not_ the utter insulting disaster that always seemed to issue from my lips in a previous life.

"He definitely had a crush on me. And you know what? Naruto doesn't deserve me. Not the way I've treated him. He deserves someone much better. Someone who would really treat him right. Someone who would put him first."

I raised my face, beginning to feel a shred of self-respect returning. The idea blazed at me.

"Hinata!" I said in excitement. "Don't you get it? I can't be the love that Naruto wants. I can't give him that! But he's – he's an incredible person! He deserves the best. He deserves happiness and love. So why don't we give him that!"

"Huh?" Both of them were staring at me in confusion.

"I've been keeping in touch with Naruto. The letters are irregular, but I can assure you, he doesn't have a girlfriend." I briefly channeled a pair of idiots from my old life. "It's time for: Operation Matchmaker!"

Hinata's expressive face momentarily blossomed, before closing down again.

"I – I can't. I wish I could, but I can't."

Her tone was _dead_. I don't mean that she sounded depressed, I mean that from her tone, you could tell that she'd had the time to pass through the stages of grief, before finally arriving at "acceptance."

"Yes you can!" I insisted. "With our help—"

Ino put a hand on my shoulder. "I think she's talking about something else."

Hinata nodded. "To control the _byakugan_ – that's the whole purpose of the Hyuga clan. There have been many who wished to marry outside the clan, but they were never allowed. Never. I'm the _heir_. If I were allowed to defy the clan head – my father – then not only would the line of inheritance be broken, the other families within the clan – all of them – would be free. The restrictions would fall. They would have to. And the clan would disintegrate."

She sniffed.

"That's what would happen if I were to follow my heart."

Ino stared at us with bloodshot eyes. "Well… turd on a stick."

Then, in sympathy, she slammed her head into the table. And then began to snore.

Hinata and I looked at Ino, blinked, and stared at each other.

"She didn't have _that_ much to drink, did she?" I asked.

"I… I don't think so."

But I didn't care. My mind was racing. I owed Naruto, and figured I owed Hinata, too. And to tell the truth, the thought of unrequited love just pierced something in my heart. I had to fix this! But that would mean disrupting the Hyuga clan, and perhaps disrupting their line of succession. How could I convince an utter powerhouse like Hyuga Hiashi that this was not only necessary, but a good idea?

What do you give the man who has everything? The Hyuga clan was already the most powerful clan in Konoha (particularly with the collapse of the Uchiha clan). They were unstoppable in combat, unbeatable in reconnaissance, and unmatched in gathering information. What could possibly make it worthwhile…

I looked at Hinata.

And then I smiled.

"We just have to offer your dad something big enough to make all the trouble worthwhile," I said, with a growing grin.

"I thought about that, but what could I ever give him?"

"Not you. Me. You remember when you said I was unarmed?"

Hinata nodded, looking me up and down.

"Watch closely…"

Instead, she suddenly shielded her eyes with both hands.

END OF CHAPTER 3

Next chapter: High clan negotiations, and Sakura finally learns Naruto's secret!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"What were you thinking?" Tsunade-sama demanded in a rage. "You're supposed to be keeping a low profile! Do you accomplish that by blabbing the reincarnation story to everyone? Including the man who happens to be the head of the most powerful clan in the village? The most powerful clan in the country? And I'm including the daimio's family in that assessment!"

Without the part of me that was Ranma, I couldn't have done it. I'll admit, as Sakura I have sometimes tended to be meeker than I might have been. Almost like Hinata in some cases, I guess. But as Ranma, I'd learned (eventually) to stand up to my father's bluster, and I'd eventually even learned to stand up to Nabiki. Between her talents at blackmail, manipulating emotions, twisting words, and what had to be a bloodline limit in her ability to trowel on the guilt, Nabiki had been the second-toughest opponent I'd ever had to face. Though I couldn't say that I'd decisively bested her, as an adult I'd gradually learned to fight her to a draw.

It was that experience I called upon to face up to Tsunade.

"We aren't going to be able to keep my new knowledge a secret," I told her. "According to Hinata, my chakra points and flows have completely changed. Every Hyuga in the village will know something's up. So I told her about my near-death experience, and even told her that I'd returned from that with memories of a past life—"

I saw Tsunade's expression turn confused. It was easy to imagine her thoughts at that point: _Why are you repeating the cover story?_

"She even knows that I may have some new techniques, but that I'm still a little messed-up by it."

Tsunade's expression began to clear. She new better than I did that the secret we were trying to preserve was her reincarnation jutsu, not the knowledge I'd brought forward from Ranma's life.

"Frankly," I finished, "I think this is the best thing that could have happened. I'm trying to work through this knowledge. At first I thought that I'd just be able to boost my taijutsu. But some of the skills and techniques – there was a phrase I picked up from that other life: _balance of power_. I think some of the techniques that I picked up could eventually change the power relations among the hidden villages, and the five countries."

Tsunade's scowl lessened and she looked at me in surprise. "That powerful? Are you sure?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not sure. Not at all. But I think there's a _chance_ that I could teach some of these skills to people. If all our nins, or even a small number of them, suddenly had new and unforeseen abilities, even a fairly modest ability might shift the balance, correct?"

"Perhaps."

"And if that's the case, perhaps we should warn some of the key players in the village."

"But you scheduled a negotiation!" she protested. "With me as witness."

"Oh," I said lightly, "there were a couple of other issues that I needed to work out with Hyuga-sama."

"I see." Tsunade frowned at me. "Alright girl. It's your game, let's see how you play it." She gestured for me to proceed.

I grabbed my left arm, suddenly feeling the weight of what I was about to attempt.

"Could you, ah, bring him in?"

Tsunade nodded, bemused. She returned to her desk and sat down, then pulled a hanging signal cord. When an assistant opened the door and peeked in, Tsunade said, "If Hyuga Hiashi is still waiting, would you please show him in?" The door closed quietly.

In the brief seconds remaining, I asked quickly, "He can lip read, can't he?"

Tsunade nodded, breaking into a pleased smile. "Very good, Sakura."

He could lip read. He could see through walls. I'd planned our previous conversation with the idea that it wouldn't be private.

The glacial calm force that was Hyuga Hiashi strode into the room, closing the door behind him. It was only the three of us, and as the man turned to face me, the situation quickly shifted to Hyuga-sama vs. me, with Tsunade delegated to referee.

"I have important things to do, girl. Let's get this over with. I have little patience for those who think they can meddle in clan affairs."

"Don't you want your daughter to be happy?" I countered.

It was a weak opening, but that's the way I'd always preferred to fight, as Ranma. You start soft, and gradually work up to the big stuff. I noticed that Tsunade-same seemed surprised by this topic.

"Unfortunately, the Hyuga clan has always been burdened with responsibility to match our power. We might have been happier with a simpler life, but that is impossible. Now, I believe you have some new technique you wanted to show off?"

"What would be the harm in allowing Hinata to marry outside the clan?" I demanded.

Hiashi allowed a trace of irritation to appear on his stern face. "That is purely an internal affair of the Hyuga clan. By treaties that pre-date the founding of Konoha, the village is forbidden from interfering in the clan's internal affairs."

"The village isn't interfering," I pointed out. "Just me. What's the harm?"

"Surely Hinata gave you _some_ clue! The _byakugan_ is a recessive gene. No children of an out-marriage will carry an active version of the bloodline. But if second generation children intermarry, they have a chance of producing a third-generation child with the full _byakugan_ – outside the clan, and outside our training or control." He narrowed his strange eyes. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is to gather such a scattered collection and bring them into containment once more? Can you conceive of how it would hurt this village, if competitive _byakugan_ clans sprang up in the countries of water, or earth, or _sound?_ Do you have any idea what you're meddling with? You wanted to talk about balance of power – imagine the Akatsuki with the ability to glance at the populace and immediately spot your friend Naruto, and see him for what he is!"

That struck me like a slap across the face.

"Naruto? What do you mean? Why _is_ Akatsuki after him?"

Tsunade-sama leaned forward and cleared her throat. We both looked at her, and I was shocked. There was a look of fury on her face like I'd never seen before, and it was directed straight at Hyuga Hiashi!

"Er—" the clan leader suddenly fumbled in his delivery. "That secret belongs to Naruto and others. All I can say is that an accident in his youth left him…uniquely different."

I frowned, trying to puzzle out what he meant. Naruto had more than a few weird traits. He can do shadow clones better than anyone else our level, and the mass shadow clone better than most jonin-level ninja. He was a bit of a knucklehead. He had more loyalty than anyone in the world. He had those strange whisker-scratches on this face. Which reminded me of how in the deepest crisis, his eyes would turn slitted, his fingers would seem to form claws, and his body would erupt in an animalistic aura. In that form, he was nearly unstoppable, and as he grew more and more desperate, he looked more and more like one particular form of animal.

Suddenly everything made sense.

Suddenly I understood why some people disliked him, and reacted savagely toward him. Maybe they sensed the animal he held within him.

Because I suddenly knew Uzumaki Naruto's secret. The answer came, surprisingly, not from my life as Sakura, but from older and darker memories of Ranma. But one thing was completely and utterly clear. Naruto knew the neko-ken!

I stared at Hiashi in dawning understanding. "You knew about this? Even when he was a child, you knew?"

"We've always known! Didn't you understand? The _byakugan_ allows us to _see chakra!_ One glance at the boy is enough to see it all – one look at his chakra patterns and it's obvious! Every one of us has seen the boy, and the monster he hold inside of himself!"

_That_ revelation had me off balance. And it was just about the coldest, cruelest description of the neko-ken that I'd ever heard! "You're telling me that the whole clan knew, and they never said a word?"

He gave a tight smile, sensing a winning hand. "We've always kept the hokage fully informed, as well as certain other vital parties. But yes, the Hyuga clan knows how to keep secrets. That's the power of a well-controlled clan. That's the structure you're attempting to disrupt."

I was trying to work through the implications of it. "Back when Naruto was a child – with no family, no parents, no one to turn to – you knew even back then, and you did nothing to defend him?"

"On the contrary. The Hyuga clan has _always_ defended him. How else do you think he could have survived, in a village filled with blind hate? Some people knew, others merely sensed something off about the boy. Our clan aided him, but subtly. I personally favored a more open approach, adopting him into the clan where we could have provided better support." He shrugged. "Other factions within the clan disagreed. In the end, we kept our distance, protecting without his knowledge or awareness."

My mind raced. He'd given me the key! There was no trace of it in his expression, but I had to believe that Hyuga Hiashi had deliberately given me the hint I needed. Why? For his daughter's happiness? Could it be that he actually cared? You wouldn't know that to look at him.

"If there was the possibility of adopting Naruto before," I slowly worked out, "then it should be still possible to adopt him today. And if he was in the clan, he could marry Hinata."

Hyuga-sama gave a cold smile. "It's my understanding that no one has even mentioned this to Uzumaki yet. Your scheming on your friend's behalf without his knowledge or consent is worthy of a Hyuga clan elder. But to answer your question, no. That window of opportunity is closed. Uzumaki's situation was a unique event. Our reaction to that event might have been to adopt the child. But that path was not taken. The event is now long past, yesterday's news. Reconsidering at this late date would be purest favoritism. It would display the head family as hypocrites who look to their own interests over that of the clan, and it would ultimately end up destroying the clan. Furthermore, there is the choice of Hinata. She is my _heir_. She will lead the clan. She will marry within the clan to reinforce her power base. Her children will possess the full _byakugan_ and they in turn will lead the clan."

I thought I understood. Hiashi wanted his daughter to be happy, but he saw no way out for her. He'd given me what clues he could, but he couldn't see a way out of the trap, and he didn't expect me to find one either. But he seemed modestly willing to indulge me. Maybe he really wanted to see my new technique. Maybe he was just an optimist.

"Hinata's your heir," I thought aloud, "but you have another daughter."

"Hanabi," he confirmed, with barely a nod. "She has excellent potential."

I was desperately searching for a new plan. "Would you adopt Naruto as a favor to another clan? A restored Uchiha clan, for example?"

I wasn't entirely insane. I had hopes and fears. Between the two sides of me, some of my hopes _were_ my fears. There was no way I had any real claim on Sasuke at the moment, and I wasn't really saying that. I was just feeling things out.

"Hyuga relations with the Uchiha clan have often been … trying. It's difficult to imagine circumstances that would lead the clan to accept an adoption. From Uchiha, or anywhere else."

But I thought I saw a sparkle in his eye. Perhaps it was my imagination, but though the man's visage was stern, he seemed to be indulging my speculation.

"What about the other way?" I wondered. "Could another clan adopt Hinata?"

"The Uchiha clan. No." There was a finality to that.

"The … Haruno clan. The Haruno clan would adopt Hinata!"

Hyuga Hiashi gave me the sort of smile you would give to a child. "To take our heir from us? Not likely. First, we would need treaties binding both clans together. This 'Haruno' clan would need to control its bloodlines as fiercely as the Hyuga do. Any child born with the active _byakugan_ would need to be returned to the Hyuga. Forever, because a recessive gene could hide for generations. Finally, such a clan would need to be a great clan. Great enough that the Hyuga elders would agree to the wisdom of such a joining. Lastly, the price for our _heir_ would be beyond reckoning. So let me merely say that it doesn't seem likely."

"But it's _possible!_"

"I'll grant you that for the sake of argument. Anything is possible."

"Then," I looked at Hyuga-sama desperately, "can we just leave it as 'possible' for now? Please, we're talking about your _daughter_ here! Don't tell me you don't love her! Don't tell me you don't want her to be happy, because I won't believe it!"

"Let's see the demonstration. Show me this stunning new technique." His tone wasn't indulgent, but I thought he was at least willing to consider it.

"Okay, fine," I agreed. I turned to the Hokage, who'd been watching silently until now. I began to spin my justification. "Long ago, ninjas used disguise and concealment more than we do today. It was the primary approach – sneaking into the enemy territory without being identified. As anonymous as any peddler or merchant. But with techniques like the _byakugan_, we could spot infiltrators through the concealed hardware they carried."

"And their scrolls, and the strength of their chakra patterns, and other methods," Hyuga-sama added.

"Uh, right. But what if we could go back to the old days? I mean, what if the Fire Country alone could sneak around with weapons, but in a way that couldn't be spotted? That's a major tactical advantage!"

The two adults in the room looked at each other. Hyuga-sama nodded in some sort of acknowledgment.

"I agree, so far," he admitted.

"Well? Use the full _byakugan_, if you want. Am I carrying any weapons? Anything at all?"

He whispered a word, and as the veins bulged out around his eyes, he stared through my body. "No. No metal, no scrolls, no wood even. Although you have the chakra coils of a ninja, you're not concealing anything."

"But I am." And with that, I touched my hidden weapons. I pulled out seven kunai with my right hand (currently the most I could hold at once) and ten shuriken with the left.

Hyuga Hiashi stumbled back in shock, pulling an arm up to shield his eyes.

"Further, I've got another technique that will blind users of the _byakugan_. I haven't told anyone or mentioned it, but what if there's a possibility that this could work against any dojutsu? What if we could blind _any_ eye technique? And through training and cooperation, what if we could find a way to make your clan, and your clan only, resistant? Would that count as important?"

Hyuga-sama lowered his arm, daring to look at me now that the brief surge of ki from my hidden weapons had passed.

"That was startling, but forewarned we could easily compensate. It is hardly the blinding attack you describe. Though I am impressed with the technique, I'm afraid—"

I didn't allow him to finish. While he spoke, I'd been concentrating my attention, focusing my will. Compared to my life as Ranma, this was nothing. Akane had been vastly more impressive. Still, I was able to touch my ki, which was apparently more than anyone else in this world could do. And while Hyuga-sama spoke, I raised my battle aura, bringing it out to waver at the very edge of visibility – a translucent blue film that covered by body.

"No! Stop it! Turn it off!"

Even without the _byakugan_ raised, Hyuga Hiashi reeled back in pain. I instantly snuffed my battle aura.

"How about now?" I asked. "Could the Hyuga clan benefit from a weapon that blinds any pupil technique?"

"My God!"

Hyuga-sama blinked, reassuring himself that he hadn't been permanently blinded. Finally, he looked at me through eyes that still watered.

"It's not me you need to convince, it's the clan elders. I know them well enough to predict that their first reaction will be to eliminate the problem through assassination." He had a manic grin on his face as he considered it. Hyuga Hiashi actually had a manic grin. I never expected to live to see that, nor do I expect to see it ever again.

"If you want to live, you need to prove that not only is this an effective weapon against competing dojutsu, but that you can help the Hyuga find a way to defend against it.

"And after that," he turned to face me, wearing a crafty, predatory smile, "then you may have the power to negotiate."

He smacked his fist into his palm. "I like your plan! We'll start immediately. In one week you will fight Neji, inside the Hyuga compound. If you win, we'll continue from there."

I was dumbfounded. "I—what? _Neji?_"

"Of course, I'll brief him on your little trick. He can begin thinking about a defense."

With that, he clapped my on the shoulder, before turning to stride out the Hokage's door. "Congratulations! This was worthwhile after all! Oh, and be sure to brush up on your counter-assassin techniques!"

The door closed and Tsunade turned to me, speaking at last.

"If you wanted to start an avalanche, you succeeded."

END OF CHAPTER 4

Author's notes:

In my first draft, Sakura knew about the kyubi. Re-reading the manga scanslations, Naruto tells her on their first new mission, as they head to the hidden village in the sand to rescue Gaara. Which is a month or so in the future, in the timeline of my story.

I liked that bit in the manga and wanted to keep it (even if I had to alter some of the cast). So coming back to my story, I needed to change Sakura's response, since she no longer knew of the kyubi. And … the obvious misunderstanding leapt out at me. It required remarkably little alteration of the dialog (assuming that people pussyfoot around in their dialog, being reluctant to discuss additional aspects of the big secret).

Actually, the whole kyubi-vessel is probably one of the least believable parts of the Naruto story. Not the demon or the magic or anything. That's fine. No, I mean, "Every single adult knows this huge secret, and none of the kids find out." Yeah, _as if_.

Sakura will find out the truth… eventually. Probably just as it happened in the manga. Until then, at least two adults assume she already knows. Meanwhile, Sakura is thinking that this village is insane enough to throw children into a pit filled with starving cats – just to gain an unbeatable technique. Of the dangerous secrets, Sakura's is worse. Because the village _IS_ that insane. Let's hope she doesn't explain the far-too-simple training procedure to anyone.

Next chapter: sexy training


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I now had enough ki to actually use martial arts tailoring. The basic moves, at least. Several techniques, such as Ryoga's "iron cloth" and Kodachi's "razor ribbon" allow you infuse ki into fabric. This can make the cloth stiff or sharp or even allow you to move and manipulate the cloth.

It's fairly basic stuff – Kodachi was no ki expert, though she was good with her gymnastic tools. It's one of the first techniques that Ryoga learned.

Martial arts tailoring uses both aspects. You take a piece of thread and stiffen the end, for about five centimeters. Then, you sharpen the tip. The result is needle-less sewing, as the end of the thread itself becomes the needle.

The next step is to manipulate and maneuver the thread, so that it actually sews itself. At my peak in the old days, I could assemble clothes faster than a small sweatshop.

The reason for all this darned activity was a difference between my world and the distant place that Ranma remembered. In particular, Ranma's world had an absolutely brilliant creation known as the _skirt_.

You have to understand: as Ranma, skirts were about the girliest thing around. They were always swishing when you moved your legs, drawing attention to feminine legs and hips, a constant reminder that the wearer was a girl. While Ranma had enjoyed watching his fiancées wear skirts, he'd hated wearing them himself, for the same reason.

Which was why I was so keen to re-invent the skirt. We had plenty of different blouse styles. A blouse and skirt wasn't that shockingly different from a kimono. But a pleated skirt would allow real martial arts movement. And in all the world, only I understood the full utility of the skirt – the swish, the hem flip, the flow of it all. Sasuke wasn't going to know what hit him! If I had my way, he'd be doing a lot more than just noticing me! I rubbed my hands and chortled, thinking of Sasuke seeing me again and having a total eye-popping, tongue-lolling, completely smitten reaction.

Okay, maybe it wasn't entirely realistic, but a girl can dream, can't she?

And after Sasuke was smitten, well… my head was still a mental battlefield over the big "what next" question. Should Sasuke begin kissing me and proceeding from there? Half of me blushed and fantasized. The other half wanted to punch him and coolly inform him that I wasn't into guys, and that he should get lost.

But first he had to notice me, all parts of me agreed on that.

As I said, Konoha didn't really have skirts. Kimono, capes, cloaks, waist drapes, long coats – but no skirts the way Ranma had known them. So I was going to invent them, and wear them, and if my plan worked out everyone would be watching me. Hopefully in admiration.

Like everything, you need practice. With the last stitch done, I pulled on the pleated skirt, and spent a moment admiring myself in the mirror of my room. A bit strange, but intriguing. Then I saw the clock. I wasn't late, but there was no time to waste. I opened my window and took off.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The village of Konoha is built up against a raised slab of basalt. You might wonder why they chose to build a village smack on top of an obvious fault line. In my previous life, I'd lived in Japan and wasn't surprised. Besides, in this world, there were bigger threats than earthquakes.

Four kilometers along the western edge of the bluff lies one of the village's older quarries. It was currently unused, and the Hokage had also provided permission to use this as a private training ground.

Shortly before the appointed hour, Hinata appeared at the edge of the quarry; she was suddenly _there,_ with wisps of smoke emphasizing her mysterious arrival.

Lee could be seen approaching from the south, leaping like a hyperactive grasshopper. Despite his green suit, he was easily visible.

I began unpacking my gear. A futon, a medical stretcher, a small hibachi, a pair of pots, mixing bowls, and so on.

Lee arrived to see me laying things out. "Sakura-san!" he proclaimed, tears streaming down his face. He gave me a fierce hug (but fortunately a fairly manly one). I rolled my eyes and silently went along with it, telling myself that he treated Gai the same way.

"Sakura-san! I am so happy to have the opportunity to assist you in stimulating your youthful vigor!"

"Uh, thanks, Lee." Honestly, how are you supposed to respond to a line like that?

He looked at the gear I'd unpacked. "Are we camping here? Konoha is so close."

"It's just a day camp," I explained. "I'll want a large lunch. And the futon isn't for sleeping, it's for cool-down. You'll see."

Meanwhile, Hinata approached me with her face aimed at the ground.

"Sakura-san?"

I swear, with the tentative way she spoke, I thought she was stuttering even when she wasn't.

"Hi, Hinata. Thanks, I really need your help. I know I haven't talked to you since the bar, but—"

My words were silenced when she fell to her knees. "Sakura-san, I was so rude to you! And you've done this for me? You're going to fight Neji?"

"Aw, come on, he's really mellowed out these last couple of years. Worst he'll do is give me a thumping."

"No, Sakura, not in front of the clan elders. Neji needs to humiliate you! Otherwise, they will never forgive him!"

Oh. Well, that was just peachy keen. But there was a voice in the back of my mind whispering to me. My own secret wishes and hidden thoughts that I'd once called my "inner Sakura." Right now, Inner Sakura and Ranko had their arms around each other's shoulders, and they were chanting in unison: "Haruno Sakura doesn't lose!"

I knelt down next to Hinata and put my hands on her shoulders. "Then you and Lee will just have to help me train, to ensure that I don't lose, won't you?"

Hinata nodded silently. I could see wet spots on the stone ground beneath her, where her tears fell.

"Hinata… did I go too far? I thought we agreed in the bar…?"

She sniffed. Loudly. "It's just, for the first time ever, I have _hope!_" She looked up at me with those amazing lavender eyes. "But I haven't seen Naruto-kun in so long, what if he's not…? I mean, I haven't even talked to him!"

"We won't force him into anything," I promised.

Naruto had already had enough grief in his life. I didn't want to add to that. I had a brief ugly image of myself in the role of my father. I mean, Ranma's father. "Your feelings don't matter, boy! For honor's sake, you must marry the girl!" Yeccccch. No thank you. I wasn't going to force Naruto into anything. I wasn't even going to gently push him into anything he didn't want. But if somehow I could give him some happiness, well, I owed him. I had begged his help once. When it had mattered the most, I had laid my soul out for him and begged help. And without asking me for anything, he had turned and walked forward into hell. For his friend. For me. He hadn't managed to bring Sasuke back, but not for want of trying.

And I'd known full well how he felt about me. In the romantic sense, I'd asked him to cut his own throat, to rescue his rival and doom his own interests. And he hadn't even hesitated. He had selflessly put my interests above his.

I'd known it at the time. I'd understood perfectly. But it takes a while for that to trickle through. To think that there are people like that in this world – it gives you hope that maybe things can work out for everyone.

I didn't love Naruto as a … well, as a lover. I didn't love him in a romantic sense. But as a friend, there was no one I loved more.

By now, more than a few of my tears joined Hinata's on the cold stone ground.

"Hinata," I told her firmly. "I'm going to fight Neji and do my best to win. If I can find that courage, then you sure as hell better find the courage to talk to Naruto! I want you to promise me, as soon as he gets back, the first time you see him, you will tell him how you feel."

"Okay," she quietly agreed.

Rock Lee stood still and silent watching us. Tears poured down his face too, but if you know Lee you know that's not unusual for him.

"Remember," I told Hinata. "A lifetime full of love! When your chance comes, a girl has to grab it with both hands, doesn't she?"

The shy girl threw her arms around me. "Thank you!" she whispered in my ear. Then, with that understated Hinata smile, she dabbed away her tears and stepped smartly into position next to Lee.

I smiled and began to pace back and forth in front of them. I was trying not to compare myself to Patton, or MacArthur, or one of the famous generals from Ranma's world.

"Alright, troops! We have a mission! One medic-nin, _me_, has to be trained up and able to fight Hyuga Neji. We have one week. In our favor, I have picked up some new techniques that I think will blow the socks of every Hyuga, and in fact, every user of eye or pupil techniques. But I don't know for sure. That's part of why Hinata is here – to help us figure out what's going on. Our second advantage: Between the techniques and the Hokage's medical training, I believe I have a _radically_ better way to achieve high strength and speed. Lee, you will help with that. I have to warn you – these training methods may sound… er… insane. Give me the benefit of the doubt. But, in case things go wrong, I have prepared for medical intervention, as you can see by this equipment here."

Lee snapped a crisp salute. "What are my duties, Sakura-san?"

"Well…" I thought about it. "I need to build up my strength and speed, grow my ki, and a little body hardening probably wouldn't hurt. Hinata – you know there are techniques to toughen a fighter up. How much do those protect against the Hyuga 'gentle fist' attacks?"

"A little. But it doesn't help much against _Closing The Gates_."

I gave a sharp nod. "Okay, good. Maybe a little body hardening, but no sense working on the _bakusai tenketsu _yet. Too bad, since this quarry would be a perfect spot for it. Okay. I'll do the meditation on my own. So let's concentrate on speed and strength. That should go fine, since there's only a little overlap. When I'm exhausted with one, I'll switch to the other. Also, it's nice to build fast-twitch and slow-twitch in alternate passes, so I don't get too out of balance." I nodded to myself. "Great. Any questions?"

Lee's mouth had tightened, as if he were keeping himself under fierce control. "Sakura-san?"

"Yes, Lee? What is it?"

"What are you _wearing?_"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

We started with the pea-shooter exercise. I had brought many bags of dried peas, and I'd poured them out into a bucket and given Lee a tube. Granted, it's a bit gross (since the peas are covered with spit, after all). I took that as extra incentive. Lee's job was to score on my body. I mean, to shoot a pea and hit me in the body. My job was to knock the peas aside with the flat of my hand.

Meanwhile, Hinata stood on my left flank and held a long piece of bamboo. Her eyesight was good enough that she didn't even need to activate the _byakugan_ to spot the peas that hit. Every fifth hit, she'd whack me once with the stick.

I dropped into a cat stand and held my hands stiff and open, like for a knife hand attack. Only in this case, it was more of a ping-pong-paddle-hand.

"Begin!" I called.

Spit spit spit.

"Clever," I complimented. Lee had shot high, middle, low. I leaned up top, swatted with the hand, and shifted my feet.

Spit spit spit spit spit.

I began moving my hands faster, knocking peas to each side. It got tougher as they began to come faster. This was nothing compared to shuriken or kunai, though. I didn't even have to parry them. Still, one got through. I glanced at Hinata, who held her stick ready, like a batter for the Tokyo Giants. Hit hit hit. That glance had cost me.

Lee was getting into it now, spraying peas like a submachine gun. I began to get into the zone, my hands flying.

WHACK!

I winced, but said, "Good. Harder next time."

My advantage over every other shinobi in the world was that I knew both the theory and "feel" of ki. I didn't start getting into the theory until my early thirties, but it had impressed me enough to actually invest in some of the education I'd skipped out on back in high school.

For a ki users, nerves are like the training wheels on a bicycle. They help you when you're just learning, but eventually they just slow you down. Nerve impulses are slow. A signal traveling down a nerve only moves at about 50 meters per second. That's a bit less than 200 kilometers an hour. Which is pathetic for high-level martial arts. Ki signals, on the other hand, are blindingly fast. I'd worked with some scientists, who suspected that ki signals might travel at the speed of light, but we'd never been able to really measure them.

The first task is to convince the body to use ki, rather than nerves. This normally takes years, and is a gradual process. I had a head start on that, since I'd done it once and remembered the feel. I was a past master of this, and now it was less learning and more a matter of helping my body remember.

I ducked Hinata's swing at the back of my head.

"Don't go easy on me – Neji won't!"

I think Lee was spraying about as fast as he was able. Hinata, though, was still being too mild.

Speed training is a little bit about the muscles. Your whole system – muscles, tendons, bones – it all has to be able to accommodate the sudden and repeated demands of a martial artist moving at speeds that exceed human capabilities. But the main aspect was the nerves. The eyes had to learn to sense faster, the brain and reflexes to respond instantly, and the signal had to travel down to the limbs faster than the blink of an eye. Everyone has moments when they do it – the ki bursts through in a moment of stress. One aspect of martial arts is to recognize the feel of that and do it more often. I knew the feel of it, I just had to get this body…

WHACK!

"Arg!" In my distraction, another slew of peas hit me. "No! Dammit!"

WHACK!

"Should we stop?" Hinata called.

"No! Harder! I've got to learn this!"

WHACK! WHACK!

The problem was that it was hard to look in two directions at once. My hands were moving fast, swatting peas to each side, but every so often one would get through, and I knew Hinata was just waiting for her opportunity. From the corner of my eye I saw her – and I dodged.

Actually I'd dodged several times before, but this time I felt it. _Ki_. I clung to that feeling. I'd managed to accumulate a small ki store already, now I tried to force it down those same pathways.

I can't quite describe it. It's not like the world slowed down. It's just that the exercise was suddenly easy. I spent a few seconds confirming that I could do this, then stuck one hand behind my back. My left hand flashed through the air, darting up or down as I swatted or backhanded the small green projectiles out of the way. Not a single hit.

"Halt!" I called. "Stage two. Let me get the other bucket, and we can move to a clean spot. Hinata, I want you to hit hard and fast – try to leave a bruise. I'll be better at dodging, so watch for that. Lee, you won't need the straw, just grab a handful of peas and fling them up over me. I need to catch them and put them in this new bucket. Every pea that falls on the ground, Hinata, means one hit you get to make. Ready? Go!"

The entire morning was taken up with speed exercises. Before, I could routinely parry at least a half-dozen shuriken. By lunchtime, my arms and legs were like noodles, but I was up to the point where my movements were a blur.

Barely able to drag myself over to the medical supplies, I began to grind up several special herbs. They were concoctions that I'd learned of through the amazons.

"What's that?" Hinata asked, as she worked on lunch.

"The first is something I'll add to my drinks," I told her. "It promotes ki recovery. Think of it as a soldier pill, but for ki. It doesn't do a lot, so it's mostly useful for beginning ki users like I am right now. Also, it needs to be made fresh, so I can't just make up a batch of ki soldier pills. Which is a shame. Generally, the trick for replenishing ki is food and lots of it."

"I see." Quietly, Hinata doubled the recipe she was working on.

"Uh, you might want to triple that."

"But I already accounted for Lee-san…"

"If there are leftovers, I'll have them as an afternoon snack."

"If you say so…"

I started grinding the herbs for my second mix – a thick green paste. "This needs to sit for a couple of hours. I'll work on strength training this afternoon. After that, I may not be able to move. I'll lie down on the futon, and if you can massage it in – particularly into my back and the back of my legs, it'll really help."

Lee had arrived back in time to hear the last of that. "Oh, yes! Gai-sensei highly recommends massage! It is the perfect treatment for youthful muscles, burning from the vigor of our exertions!"

I did my level best not to cringe at that. I knew that both Lee and Gai were very interested in the girls. I mean, neither one of them was gay. But sometimes the way they talked…

Not that there was anything wrong with being gay! As Ranma, I'd been very very gay, at least half the time. So I figured, you know, glass houses and all that. In fact, fantasizing about Sasuke bothered me for the same reason…

Partially to get my mind off that disturbing line of thought, I explained.

"This isn't a regular muscle salve. Most ointments just increase circulation, and massage helps press out the lactase from the muscle fibers. Which is all good. But every cell of the body is both a ki factory and a ki engine. If you have a pool of ki ready, your muscles, bones, and everything can get supercharged to incredible vitality. Every cell becomes stronger and tougher. Ki lets you do incredible moves, Lee, and it doesn't tear your muscles apart, it strengthens them! I knew advanced ki users who were 300 years old, and they were tougher than I was!

"This salve does two things. It infuses the skin, increasing the effectiveness of the body hardening, and it seeps in, affecting all the cells and improving their ability to create and consume ki. But it's only taken up by cells that are at the ragged edge, on the verge of collapse."

Lee's eyes shone with a need that I knew very well. "I would never doubt you, Sakura-san, but it sounds too good to be true! If ki is so useful, then why haven't we heard of it before? If ki is so powerful, then why isn't the world run by those who engage in hard work and training, instead of clans who have a powerful bloodline?"

I smiled at him, tucking a strand of my pink hair back behind one ear. "Lee, just 'Sakura' is fine. There's no need to be so formal with me. As for ki – if I can prove how useful it is, I promise that you'll be the first person I train. And your questions – I'm wondering that myself. I need to dig into some old records. It really doesn't make sense, because martial artists discover ki naturally. You almost _can't_ discover it. Chakra is much more complex. So how come we have expert chakra users and no one's heard of ki? I'm still wondering that myself."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Strength training – well, everyone knows about that. Push ups, chin ups, rope climbing, and lots of free weights. Running and jogging and sparring with increasing arm and leg weights, courtesy of Lee. Most people just don't go far enough. Once you've done all that and worn yourself to a limp noodle, then you have to move to the next step. You strap on even heavier weights, paint your naked body with a tangy marinade, and then run for your life through a forest filled with hungry wolves. My oyaji – I mean, Ranma's old man – excelled in those sort of "high motivation" exercises.

Okay, I didn't quite run _naked_ through the forest. Lee was pacing me. I wore a bikini. A… pink bikini. I would pick up some other colors, I really would, but I'm proud of my hair. It's one of the few things about me that's really special. And sometimes, pink clothes just bring my hair color out.

But I swear, when Hinata was painting me with marinade, she looked at me like I was insane. It makes you wonder about the wimpy training they use at the academy.

Oh, yeah, I found my ki on that exercise, too. I've always appreciated wolves. They're an excellent motivator.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I stumbled back into the quarry.

"I…survived," I got out, collapsing face-first on the futon. "Hinata… you there? Rub down… please?"

"Yes, but… should I cook something else? You ate so much for lunch…"

"Oooo, food, yeah. God, Hinata, that feels absolutely incredible." The advantage of wearing a bikini for the wolf run was that I didn't need to strip down for my rub. I just dove into the small lake on the other side of the quarry, and by the time I reached here, I was washed and ready for the treatment. The disadvantage, of course, is that if you misjudge your endurance you'll drown. As Genma used to say, "The life of a martial artist is fraught with peril." By the time I collapsed on the futon, I was relatively clean and sweat free. I just couldn't move to save my life.

"Is camp stew okay?" she asked. "Shino used to do most of our team's cooking."

"Sounds great," I murmured into the mattress. "Wait? _Shino_ did the cooking? Isn't that—? Doesn't he—?"

"He's a very good cook," she said. "And we never had to clean up leftovers."

"'Cause the bugs ate it, I'm sure," I muttered into the mattress.

After a life-and-death run like that, it felt absolutely fabulous to lie there face-down on that pad, feeling Hinata's large, strong hands work over the muscles in my legs. She was using the special ki-salve I'd worked up, and I could feel the stuff working. The skin, even the muscles were getting a sort of tingly heat.

"God, that feels good," I admitted. "Hey, you know what's really sore? Can you work the gluts? A couple of times, the wolves were nipping right at my heels and I think I pulled a butt-string or something. Which is odd, because I'm too tired to remember my anatomy, but I don't think there even _is_ a butt-string."

Hinata's hands hesitated, then tentatively moved to massage my gluteus.

"Harder," I ordered. "Dig in there. Oh, yeah, that's it," I practically moaned out. "Yeah. Now the back of the thighs, okay?"

Hinata's hands moved again.

For a while, I didn't say anything, I was just sensation as her hands moved over me. It was pure bliss. If there's anything that makes stretching and exertion even better, it's a professional-quality rubdown afterward. I drifted just on the edge of an erotic dream. Not quite asleep, but imagining that Sasuke was working on me. But then the aroma of the food roused me, and I looked up to see Hinata stirring the pot.

"If you were apologizing for that camp stew, then Shino must be really—"

My brain had finally had enough rest to turn on again. Hinata was stirring the stewpot. She had _always_ been working on the food. With a small "eep!" I buried my face in the futon.

He was working on my back now. It was soooo good. It was good enough for me to forgive that hideous green outfit he wore. Or the haircut. Either one, but not both.

That was the way to do it! I needed to think of things like that, how silly Lee was, and not what his wonderful hands were doing to my traitorous insides.

"Lee?" I managed to squeak out. "Is that you?"

"I am very experienced with massage, Sakura-san. Gai-sensei made sure that rubdowns were a fundamental part of my training."

"Please, Lee, you don't have to call me Sakura-_san_." Especially when you're touching me like that.

"I – I'm sorry."

"It's no problem, Lee. With hands like that, I'd be willing to forgive almost anything."

Wait – that didn't sound like a come-on line, did it? I sure didn't want him to think that. But it's surprisingly hard to think when a really nice boy is running his hands all over your body, and making you feel so good.

"Sakura? I'm going to have to turn you over in a minute, and work on the other side. As soon as I finish your neck and shoulders."

I appreciated the warning. What was I going to do? The rubdown and salve was an important part of the training. Unfortunately, girls give a somewhat visible indication when they're feeling a certain way, because a certain boy is touching them all over the body. And as soon as I rolled over, those indications would be apparent for everyone to see. I didn't want to be giving Lee even more misguided encouragement.

"It's time, Sakura. If you'll roll over now?"

"Okay," I agreed, "but I'm starting to cool down now. Is the towel close by, so I can get some of this water out of my hair?"

Lee handed me the towel, and I quickly sat up, hunching forward. I squeezed most of the water out of my hair, and gave a quick pass over my skin. Then I lay back down with the towel draped accidentally, and oh-so-casually across my chest. Problem solved!

Of course, there's not as much to rub on the front, but Lee did a great job on my arms. I was immensely glad for the towel as he got the front of my thighs. He made sure to get the salve nearly everywhere, and worked on my abdominals, then ended with a fabulous foot rub that pushed the whole experience a little over the top. I mean, no guy is that good, right?

Finally, when he was done and I lay there in wrung-out bliss, Hinata came up.

"Your chakra points have moved some more," she stated, scrutinizing me with her all-seeing eyes. "There is definitely something going on there, but I can't see it with the _byakugan_. I don't think you've shifted as much as you did before, though, so maybe you're settling down."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

While I waited for my strength to seep back, I decided that maybe I should trust Lee with my story, too.

"I need to work up to the speed where I'm faster than Neji," I admitted. "Maybe twice as fast as he is. To start with."

"But it just isn't possible," Hinata protested. "You can't move that fast! It's impossible!"

I think Lee would have been crying, had it been anyone else but me. He'd worked like a dog, training his body. "Even I can't move that fast," he said. "And I've been training with weights and special exercise my entire life."

I spread my ki wide to check for life forms that might listen in on us. Once I let that dissipate, Hinata used the _byakugan_ to check for spies. Since she could actually see chakra, not only could she spot human spies, she could spot chakra bugs, chakra-controlled animals, and even the mid-air nexus of something like a scrying spell. Once we knew we were clear, I told them.

"I didn't spend just one life training, Lee, I spent two."

"What?!"

"Some medical jutsu are as dangerous to the doctor as they are to the patient. Learning some techniques requires you to stop your own heart." I repeated my previous story. "I won't tell you the exact incident, but I hovered so near death that I ended up touching an earlier life, one of my previous incarnations. I touched it and brought it back with me. I don't want you revealing this to _any_one! But… in my previous life I was a guy."

Both my friends made faces at that. Hinata stuck out her tongue in disgust. Lee just went slightly cross-eyed trying to imagine it.

"I don't think it was this world," I admitted. "For one thing, the constellations were different. I mean, completely different. But we were people, same as here. And we either spoke the same language and wrote the same kanji, or else my mind has translated everything, and my memories are telling me that we spoke the same language. I'm not sure which is less likely. Because people were exactly the same. There was only one difference. We didn't know anything about chakra, but masters of The Art knew plenty about ki. And I was a master. The finest fighter of my generation."

I looked at Lee with sympathy. "Your training has been hard. Mine was insane. To learn to fall, my father would launch me with a catapult into the trees. He'd push me over the edge of sheer cliffs. You just seen the 'chased by wolves' training. Oyaji had strapped a couch to my back, and rode on it. Which was much easier than carrying a boulder. And keep in mind that these were the easy, early stages of training, before I reached the age of eight. Afterward things got tougher – swimming an ocean while wearing a full backpack, learning to move faster than a nest of hornets, things like that."

I sighed.

"The only reason I can surpass your hard work, Lee, is because I'm not learning, I'm just remembering."

Ruefully, I shook my head. "In all this entire world, I think I may be the only person to know about ki. It's completely different from chakra. Chakra lets you perform real magic: illusion, mind control, teleportation, real clones, shapeshifting. Ki didn't do any of that. But it was unbeatable for building up and enhancing the body. That's part of what my training is for. Every day I'm getting noticeably stronger and faster."

Lee gulped. "No kidding!"

"But I'm also trying to learn my first special technique. Well, second really. I already have a bit of hidden weapons."

"I think we saw that earlier," Hinata said. "Like a scroll with a storage seal, right?"

I nodded. "Right. Only, no scroll."

Hinata shrugged.

"Sakura-san," Lee begged earnestly, "please tell us – what is this jutsu you're trying to learn?"

"We usually called them just 'special techniques' where I came from. I'm trying to learn the _Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken_."

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire?" Hinata asked. "It sounds like a joke."

I grinned, shaking my head. "No joke. For 3000 years, it had the leaders of the most powerful country on my world quaking in fear. Just the rumor of someone knowing this technique would send the Mandarins scurrying for cover. The name comes from one of the training methods. You build a blazing hot fire, and throw in a handful of nuts to roast. Then, once they've cooked, you reach in to pluck them out."

"Ah," Lee realized, sounding disappointed, "it is a heat-resistance jutsu!"

"No. It's a speed technique. With it, your hands move so fast that the heat of the fire never even touches them. You could pluck burning coals from the fire without harming yourself. You can pick stones from the bottom of a creek without getting your hands wet. I could reach into molten lava to pluck out a key, without getting hot. Of course, it's not wise to _hold_ the nuts, or embers, or key for very long. They're still plenty hot themselves."

Hinata blinked, looking disappointed. "I'm sorry, but that's just not possible. It can't be done."

"It _is_ possible, but only with ki. It took me years to figure out what was really happening. The hand and arms are infused with ki, which accelerates them to absurd levels. Pushing chakra into your muscles has a similar effect, but doesn't actual strengthen the muscle tissue or bones or tendons. More importantly, your hands and arms are surrounded with the thinnest film of ki, as well. That film pushes the air aside as you move. Your hand slides between the molecules of air, or water, or even lava. There's no resistance at all. Normally you would be moving faster than the speed of sound, causing small thundercracks as you punched. But with ki, your hand slides frictionlessly forward, wasting no energy at all, and delivering full power to your target. You don't need to punch hard – not when your fist is moving at the speed of sound. But to gain that final level of the technique, you need to learn to move your hand through a medium like fire or water, so that you learn to keep the film of ki between you and the outside danger.

Hinata blinked. "There's no point in having us keep this secret," she finally told me. "Even if we told, no one would believe it."

I shrugged. "In my world, we wouldn't have believed in summoned animals, water clones, or raising the dead."

"Sounds like a strange place," Lee decided.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

With their help I was able to pack up, walk back home and collapse into bed. I'd tapped my ki several times, for both speed and strength. Now I had to increase that, make it both regular and unconscious, and make it happen _every_ time. Which meant upping the training tomorrow.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I had erotic dreams all night long. It was all the typical training scenarios, but I was training with Sasuke. The rubdown afterward led to the sort of stuff that you'd expect in an erotic dream, which I didn't mind at all. My only question was – why was Sasuke wearing a skin-tight green suit?

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Day two was much the same. It was easy to transport my day camp gear, using _hidden weapons_. This time I packed a lot more food.

We did speed training with gravel instead of peas. Both Hinata and Lee would take scoops of small gravel and fling it at me. It was coming in a lot faster than the peas, and it hit harder, too. Later we were able to rig up a catapult and some other strange devices.

For strength training, I was up to the weights that were one stop before Lee's current set. We got in some good sparring. I dominated more than I expected too – Lee is unbelievably good. But I had seen his style and moves before, whereas Anything Goes was completely new on this world.

I upped the run to twenty kilometers, and Lee (pacing me) would occasionally toss the wolves bits of raw meat, to reward them and make them even more eager for delectable treat in front of them (me). This was easy for Lee to do, since he was riding in a small couch strapped to my back. He wasn't nearly as fat as Genma, but he did have weights on.

Then another rubdown, while I thought very wicked thoughts that I won't share with anyone.

After packing up and returning home (and giving myself a much-needed cold shower). I realized that I still had some energy left. So instead of lying down in my comfortable bed at home, I opened the window and headed out on a quick run, to squeeze that last bit of training in.

The cold shower has reminded me of another training technique that I hadn't used yet. I needed a waterfall.

Fortunately, I knew where I could find one. Just past the training quarry, there was a nice little waterfall that was perfect for meditation. With new power filling my leg muscles, I made it back to the quarry in record time, speeding through the trees under the light of a nearly-full moon.

It was perfect. The falls might have been bigger, but there was a spot where you could sit in lotus and still have most of your body above water, as the falls thundered onto your head and shoulders.

The trick with training under a waterfall? If you've never tried it, it's a good start on body hardening. The weight of all that water slamming down on you is potent. Also, since most waterfalls tend to have chilly water, your body needs to begin raising the metabolism to stay warm. That helps grow the ki. Finally, if you can meditate under those conditions, it's a lot quicker to get a good feel for your ki. I think maybe the white noise of the waterfall is effective at blocking out the outside world, allowing you to more easily touch the inner world.

With the speed and strength training, I was now regularly tapping my ki. But that wasn't enough. It was like sparks, in dry tinder. I needed a flame – steady and long burning. That's what meditation could do for me.

I centered myself, focusing on my _hara_, the center of my ki, just below my navel. I pulled up my body's life energy and began manipulating it. I spent a good half-hour under that moonlit waterfall, circulating the energy through my body, pushing it into each limb, then pulling it back out, cycling it around my body. My body as Sakura was a lot different from Ranma's old girl form, but I was proud of what I had. I might not be as curvy as Ino, but I liked myself.

I cycled my ki, growing it larger and larger until I felt like I glowed. It was a glow like a pocket warmer, rather than the nuclear reactor Ranma had been, but it was a start. I climbed out of the waterfall and dried off, then dressed in my new training blouse and skirt and headed for home.

The night was a bit chilly, particularly with damp hair, but that's never a problem for a medic-nin. Practically the first exercises we learn are using charka to control the body's thermostat. Usually it's to stabilize patients, but the beginning exercises are always controlling your own metabolism. Deciding to warm myself up, I reached inward. After days of obsessing over ki, it was nice to go back to something that I was experienced with.

I can't believe I'd been so careless. Hyuga Hiashi had warned me himself. I myself was a ninja, and potentially an assassin. But I'd gone out on my own, in the middle of the night, to a deserted spot in the middle of the woods. I'd immersed myself in the waterfall, cutting off all awareness of my surroundings.

You never expect it to happen to you. Just as I was molding my chakra, the blast hit me. It felt like half my chest was blown open.

END OF CHAPTER 5

Next chapter: The hospital, a realization, and Sakura hits the wall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch****apter**** 6**

I woke in a familiar location: the hospital. I just wasn't used to seeing it from flat on my back. I blinked, recognizing the monitoring equipment on either side of me. I could even see the screens: Heartbeat firm and steady, BP was a bit low. My chest hurt like the blazes. Every breath I took was like a stab through the middle of my chest.

Last I remembered, I'd been the target of an assassination attempt. How had I survived? It seemed unlikely that the Hyuga clan would send an incompetent assassin after me. Was that intended to be just a warning?

Within moments, Tsunade loomed above me.

"Sakura! You're awake, good. We can't heal you without your help."

"What?" My mind must still be a bit fuzzy.

"Somehow, you've become immune to chakra. No, not immune, much worse. Any attempt to push chakra into your body results in a violent reaction. Almost explosive! By rights you should be dead, but instead you're healing and even _that's_ wrong. You're healing faster than you should be able to. Not nearly as quickly as a chakra medic could help you, but it's disturbingly fast."

I worked at making my eyes focus. "How did I get here?"

"You didn't show up at your training site this morning. Lee and Hinata got worried and you're just damned lucky that Hinata is such an expert tracker. It took her a while, but she located you near a stream and waterfall. Then Lee carried you back."

I lay there, hurting, but thankful for my friends. Hinata must have used the _byakugan_.

I thought about what had happened. As Ranma, I'd always been a quick healer. But that was because of my huge stores of ki. The waterfall had done its work. I could feel the ki fires glowing, permeating every cell of my body. Once you reach that state, training becomes exponentially more effective. You train ever harder, bruising and wounding yourself in small ways. The weak cells are killed, while the ki inside you heals the damage quickly. And the new cells that come in are ki dynamos – blazing factories of ki energy, and potent engines of ki use. Each cycle of damage and replacement shifts your body into an ever-more-powerful self-improving machine.

That is, if you survive the process.

My body was glowing with ki. That's why I'd survived, and why I was healing. By why couldn't they use chakra healing to speed the process along?

Once the question is asked in the proper way, the answer becomes obvious.

My body was filled with ki. It was practically _glowing_ with ki. Chakra couldn't penetrate. Or – was it even worse than that?

"Tsunade-sama?" I asked.

"I'm here."

"I need to try something…"

"Don't strain yourself!" she ordered. "You're in no shape for that!"

"Important," I got out. "Can you make a chakra scalpel?"

Of course she could. A chakra scalpel is one of the basic exercises of a medic-nin. It's only three centimeters long, projecting from the tip of the index finger. It's a concentrated blade of wind chakra that will make a perfect cut. Depending on their affinity, not every medic-nin can do it, but I could, and I knew Tsunade-sensei could. It's not particularly useful as an attack tool, but it's great at cutting ropes or wires. And it's absolutely perfect for surgery. A really good medic-nin can often bypass the surgical element and work directly inside the patient's body without cutting it open, but sometimes you need to fall back to the basics.

"Wanna try something."

I lifted my right arm, which pulled on chest muscles, which hurt like you wouldn't believe. At the tip of my index finger, I condensed a teeny, tiny orb of ki – no larger than a grain of salt.

"Can you see that?"

"Yes, it's like a glowing speck. Is that ki?"

I nodded. "Try cutting it. Carefully."

Tsunade brought her hand, with the small, transparent blade, close to my hand. The chakra blade moved to touch that glowing speck…

SPARK!

For a moment, the chakra erupted into raw energy. It was all forms at once – lightning, fire, wind, perhaps bits of earth and water as well. I felt it like a small explosion and an explosive burst of flame, all at the same time. My arm jerked back reflexively, as if I'd touched a live wire.

Tsunade-sama swore, sitting on her butt a meter away from me. Her language was impressive. I hadn't heard anything quite so creative since my earliest days as her apprentice.

Seconds later, the door opened and a legion of medics and orderlies streamed in.

"What was that?"

"Hokage – are you alright?"

"There was a massive blip on the monitors!"

Tsunade stood, brushing off her rear, and turned a stern gaze on all of them. "I'm fine. Now get out. I need to talk to the patient in private."

Once the well-meaning medical staff had been shooed out the door, she turned to a corner of the room.

"You, too. I'm classifying the details of what you just saw as an S-rank secret. You can describe it that way in your report, and send your captain to me if he wants details on what and why."

In the corner, an ANBU operative was suddenly visible. Had he always been there and I'd just never noticed? This one wore a monkey mask. I wonder if they swapped masks, to keep the rest of us guessing. With a nod, Monkey-san moved quietly to the door and outside.

"So," Tsunade said, once the room was clear. "I suppose that explains the problems I had when I first developed my strength. It completely messed up my chakra. I had to learn to not use my strength while I was channeling chakra or the results were extremely painful. But what I felt was more of a burn."

"There was no assassin," I realized, a bit belatedly. At Tsunade's puzzled frown, I explained. "I thought I'd been targeted by an assassin – just as Hyuga-sama had warned. But it wasn't an assassin. I tried to mold chakra. I was cold and used a metabolic boost. And … almost killed myself."

"Why does it burn for me, and explode for you?" the Hokage demanded. "What's the difference?"

"I was a ki _master_," I told her, with no trace of bragging. "Perhaps it's the amount of ki, or how tightly it's held, or the nature of the emotion infused into it. I don't know. But I'll find out."

"We're having trouble with both Sound and Mist," she reminded me.

"I know. I was your assistant last week."

"Something like this – how does it affect a summons? Or genjutsu? Or some of the stronger chakra techniques? This could change everything!"

"I'll find out," I promised. "I need to finish my basic training. Then finish my fight with Neji. Then… investigation."

Tsunade's lips pinched tight. "You aren't going to be entering any fights in your condition. Since we can't heal you—"

"Maybe you can."

Her look was skeptical. "You think I want to blow myself up again? And you can't stand another blast like that."

"You're just testing me now," I told her. "You already said you needed me awake to operate. You're hoping I can pull the excess ki out of my body." She flushed at being seen through so transparently. "Fortunately, I think I can, most of it, anyway. Enough so that I'll look like a normal person. You could work on me then."

My mentor was suspicious. "Are you sure about this, Sakura? I think I'd prefer to let you heal up the normal way. That seems to be happening quickly enough."

I shook my head. "I have things that need doing. If I postpone the fight with Neji, I'm going to look a lot weaker. And the sooner that's over, the sooner I can investigate."

"I don't like it, but I'm willing to try if you are."

"Alright," I decided. "Give me five minutes to get into the trance. I think I can hold it for about three hours. After that, my ki will come flooding in, stronger than before."

"Hold on," she said. "I'll get Hyuga Hinata in to assist. You said she's been studying your chakra flow?"

I nodded, weakly.

"Okay. Give me a few minutes. I'll also want to prep a theater."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was the waterfall exercise, squared.

There are many ki variants for stealth. Happosai had a warp technique that let you step away from the solid world. Oyaji's umisenken was more like a variant of hidden weapons. But one of the simplest and strangely most effective techniques was Doc Tofu's "don't notice me" skill. Pulling together all your ki, you simply squeezed it away into the next world. I'd learned that some of these techniques made you _more_ visible to ghosts and spiritual mediums (which leads to a whole different school of attack and defense techniques), but for normal people you just "dropped off the radar." I'd known a guy named Gosunkugi Hikaru who had done this naturally. A complete non-entity that was constantly being overlooked, despite his outlandish eccentricities. (He tended to wear burning candles strapped to his head.) "Voodoo Gosunkugi" was a non-entity to the living world, but a towering and imposing figure to ghosts. Come to think of it, Doc Tofu used to dance around with a skeleton…

In any case, I squeezed my ki away, nearly every last drop. It gets easier with practice, but for now I had to stay in a fairly strong trance to manage it. I heard snatches of conversation…

"So where's the patient?"

"Right there! On that gurney!"

"Her? She's stable. I have other things to work on…"

"I am the Hokage! Listen to me!"

And so on. Strangely enough, Hinata seemed to have a tougher time seeing me when she activated the _byakugan_.

Tsunade-sama would have normally used an anesthesia jutsu. In this case she couldn't, because I needed to be mentally alert enough to maintain my trance. I focused tightly enough that the real world faded from my awareness for a while, including the pain of the operation. When I finally began to return, it was much later and I could tell I was back in a recovery room.

I carefully let the ki leak back into my body. Finding myself healed, I cycled the ki back and forth through the area of the injury. The chakra healing had rebuilt most of the damaged tissue, but it wasn't up to the strength and vitality I expected based on my new training. Cycling the ki solved that. I found it a bit like swishing water through my mouth after brushing my teeth. Refreshing and invigorating. After that, I drifted into sleep.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining," Tsunade-sama griped, "but my patients aren't supposed to heal this fast. It's like the accident never happened."

"Then I'm cleared to continue my training?"

Tsunade stepped to the EKG/BP monitor and studied it, as if it would provide some sudden insight.

"You had your chest blown open. You had a cracked sternum! Do you have any idea how serious that is?"

I nodded, feeling the pillow crinkle at the back of my head. "I had a pretty thorough teacher."

"I'm advising you to postpone the match against Hyuga Neji," she finally told me.

"Any postponement will make me look weak."

"You are weak! _Your chest had a hole in it!_"

"I think I can handle it." I was nearly as confident as I sounded.

"And I don't like this one bit!" my mentor and instructor shouted at me.

"Do you want to re-negotiate with the Hyuga clan for a postponement?" I asked sweetly.

She returned my gaze with slitted eyes. Generally, Tsunade doesn't do the snake look very well. This time, she was excellent. "You know full well that the Hokage is not allowed to interfere in an inter-clan dispute. Your match is a verbal contract between the powerful Hyuga clan and the as-yet-nonexistent Haruno clan."

"Oh," I said, a touch too naively. "Perhaps you could speak to them merely as my doctor, and not as the Hokage."

She spent another minute glaring at me, checking to see if I would self-combust under her visual bombardment. I didn't.

"Fine then!" She actually threw her hands up in the air. "Fight Neji while you're still recovering from a life-threatening chest wound. Get yourself killed! But don't you _dare_ come crying to me after that, because _I won't care!_" And with that, she stormed from the room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

That entire day was lost for training, but fortunately it was just the one day. I was released from the hospital in the late afternoon. By early evening, I found myself a nice clearing just outside the city wall and worked on a kata. I began working through the first Anything Goes beginner's kata.

The core school has three sets of three kata – beginning, intermediate, and advanced. As I said, that's just the core school. I had an opportunity here, since I was the only practitioner of Anything Goes and I hadn't taken any students yet. I had an opportunity to change things and tune them for my own preferences. First I had to work through the originals, and gather my thoughts from over the years.

I forced myself to keep a tight focus on my form. My body was starting to get into shape, but I was built differently than Ranko. Turns and pivots were different, and I needed to incorporate those differences.

I suppose some might consider it odd that my definition of "woefully out of shape" included a fairly competent chunin-level ninja. But it wasn't good enough just to get the kata right. It had to be _perfect_. Perfect when I moved fast, or slow, or halted and hung there motionless.

How much difference does it make, when there's one wrong note in a sonata? Or one bad brush stroke across the face of a masterpiece? Or when a computer has just one circuit wrong?

I didn't practice my art to be a better soldier, I practiced my art because it was a thing of beauty. When the kata were right, I flowed. I moved and spun and leapt better than any dancer, more powerfully and gracefully than any gymnast. For me, the kata couldn't be just close – I strove for perfection, for _art_.

Part of that perfection was _zanshin_ – the "mind of no mind." That state of awareness where your focus widens until you see everything, and all senses come together in a perfect clarity. Is that what the _byakugan_ offered? For me, there is an element of almost precognition to it. I saw my opponents, observing their positions and movements. The possibilities unfolded like a tree – the moves they could make, the counters I could perform. At times I could spot a winning point. No matter how they reacted, if I reached that point I would win. But I could only see that while deep in _zanshin_, entranced by the motion that was my art.

I spent hours there, going through the kata, re-learning those ancient movements until they were engraved into my body. It has been a lifetime and more, but as it has been when I was Ranma, so it remained for Sakura. The kata were sacred and serene, and everything I've always valued most in the world.

And yes, kata worked great with a skirt.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

The next morning I expected to be right back in the groove. I'd only been gone for a day; I had bounced back from the surgery; now it was time to pick up where I'd left off.

Training can be a tricky thing. Sometimes you advance like a weed. Most of the time, you hit a plateau and can't get off it. And sometimes, it's all you can do not to backslide.

This was a "let's not backslide" day. The explosion and surgery and rest had thrown me completely off my stride. For speed we graduated from peas and gravel up to small rocks. There was a ninja training device built to use ammunition like small tennis balls. We'd snagged three of those, and then cranked the speed up to maximum. Lee and Hinata kept the ammo baskets filled with rocks (instead of tennis balls) while I dodged and blocked. Then, just to keep things exciting, Lee would pitch beehives and hornet nests at me.

Only, it wasn't working. There were just too many insects. I'd try swatting them, but then a rock the size of my fist would hit me. Those rocks were big enough and fast enough to break bones or crack a skull.

I buckled down and focused! And I was _still_ getting five or six stings every second

"I can do this!" I shouted. "I know I can!"

Concentrating as fiercely as I could, I opened my eyes to see everything! My hands were like greased lightning, spearing out, slapping, deflecting everything. The hornets hummed, enraged, while Lee dumped another bucket of stones into the hopper and adjusting the aim.

The launchers surrounded me, ensuring that at least one was always at my back. Lee's activity distracted me—

Whack.

Hinata's cannon got me with that one. I turned toward her for a moment…

Whack!

The third cannon got me with one, which hurt a lot more.

Whack. Whack.

And I was still getting stung five or six times every second.

"ARGGGG! Halt!"

I sprinted out of that psychotically insane cloud of suicidal, killer, girl-eating hornets. I had to move surprisingly far away before they'd leave me alone.

"I gotta take a break!" I announced at the top of my lungs. More quietly, "Something's not working. I gotta think about this."

So I sat down to think.

When I'd been Ranma, about the only thing that calmed me down and let me think was doing kata. I'd grown and developed since then, so I'd picked up a few new hobbies.

I worked on sewing my next outfit. Sitting cross-legged on a rock, in the middle of the quarry, I cussed and sewed and thought. After a while, I just sewed, letting my mind drift.

I hadn't gotten much of anywhere when Lee approached.

"May I sit with you, Sakura-san?"

"It's just 'Sakura,' Lee. Yeah, go ahead. I'm not getting anywhere."

He sat down, cross-legged, facing me. Fortunately my skirt was long enough to preserve modesty, even when I was sitting cross-legged.

"Is that leopard-skin?" he wondered.

"Just fake," I said. "On the good side, it should dry quicker than real leopard skin, so I'll be able to use this as a swimsuit, as well as a training outfit."

"Your don't have to get a new swimsuit," he said. "The pink one was… very nice."

"This'll be better," I promised. "See, it's got the same bikini bottom, but when I'm wearing it, it'll _look_ like a really teeny, ragged skirt. And the top only goes over the left shoulder, and is make to look deliberately ragged. It'll have that whole 'Tarzan Girl' look, particularly if I wear a single kunai at my hip. I plan to do the run barefoot today. My feet are tough enough, and I'm ready for some extra impact down there."

He thought about that. "What is a 'Tarzan Girl'?"

"You'll see!" Then I had a second thought. "Uh, Lee…?"

"Yes?" That boy has the 'intense' look down pat.

"I… um… I don't want you to take this training the wrong way. You aren't, are you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I…" I gulped. "I'm doing this training so that I can go out and drag Sasuke back. You know that, right?"

His expression didn't seem to change, but there was a mood rolling off him that was almost painful.

"Yes," he finally admitted, "I suppose I did know that."

I concentrated on sewing for a moment, unable to meet his eye.

"I've never told this to anyone but Naruto," I finally said. "I caught Sasuke the night he left. The night he went to join Orochimaru. I confessed my love. I offered him anything he wanted, if he'd just stay. Even… myself."

Lee blinked, looking absolutely serious, but he didn't say a word.

"He knocked me out. When I woke, he was gone. I found Naruto and begged him to go after Sasuke, to bring Sasuke back. And Naruto did it. He – I know he had feelings for me, and I know I was playing on those feelings." I felt the tears coming out. "I _used_ him. I know that! And… he heals really fast, but from the sound of the guys that brought him back, he almost died. For me. Trying to bring back his rival, just as a favor to me."

After a moment, Lee decided, "Naruto is a very good person. I'm proud to know him."

I wasn't done. "That's why I owe Naruto so much. That's why I'm trying to help with this thing with Hinata. If there's even a chance I could help Naruto…"

Lee digested this with no change to his patient façade. Finally, he dared to ask, "If you feel that way, did you ever wonder if Sasuke deserved you? Maybe there is someone else more worthy of your love. Someone who would care for you more, and treat you better."

I sighed, unable to lift my head from my sewing. "Yeah, you're hardly the first person to make that point. But we don't always have a choice about who we give our heart to, do we?"

There was a quiet reply from the boy across from me. "No."

"Look," I said, rallying, "I don't know how much you know about the Uchiha clan. I was Tsunade's assistant, and I took the opportunity to look up the whole story. The highlights are that that Sasuke had an older brother, Itachi, whom he absolutely worshipped. And Itachi seemed like the perfect ninja – unbelievably skilled, promoted at record young ages, incredible success on missions, all of that. Then, one day when Sasuke was seven years old, Itachi went insane. He butchered the entire clan, leaving his little brother as the only witness and sole survivor. Sasuke watched his parents, cousins, everyone in his family sliced up and killed by the older brother that he idolized.

"From that day forward, he vowed to bring Itachi to justice – to punish the man that had slain his family and clan. And the danger is unbelievable! To get Itachi he's got to go through Orochimaru and even worse! I… I couldn't help him on that quest so he made sure I was safe, back here in Konoha. But if there's anything I can do to help him, I have to! Don't you see?"

I finally dared to look up. His face didn't show any of the hurt or disappointment that I'd expected, just a fixed look of dedication.

"I believe you, Sakura-san. I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Oh, _crap!_" I muttered to myself. He was determined to be a martyr, wasn't he?

"Okay, once more from the top," I said. "Naruto's a great guy, right? I don't love him, but I sure as hell owe him."

Lee nodded.

"Sasuke's ruthless and driven, he'll do anything to stop his brother. I think he's really protecting us all, but there are a lot of people who are very upset by what he's done. He's officially listed as an S-class missing nin, and aiding him is a crime."

Lee was a bit more hesitant, but nodded finally.

"And then there's me," I finished. "I would break the law in a second, to help Sasuke-kun. I would use Naruto again, in a second, brutally exploiting any feelings he had for me, just to help my love, the criminal. What I'm saying, Lee, is that sometimes I _use_ my friends. I know it's wrong! I'm sorry, I'm really sorry… but I won't stop. In some ways, I'm not a nice person. Not a nice person at all. But…" I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears from flowing. "…if there's a chance that I can help Sasuke-kun…"

There was one way to stop me from going too far. "Talk to Hinata about this. Tell her everything. Discuss me with her. She'll do a better job of making sure that I don't take advantage of you.

"I'm just trying to tell you not to take any of this training the wrong way. I don't mean to be flirting with you, or coming on to you or anything. If you're looking for romance, you shouldn't be wasting your time with me! There's prettier girls out there who would be a lot more appreciative of the village's best fighter since Maito Gai."

He shook his head firmly. "That's not true, Sakura-san."

I gave a wry smile. "It _is_ true, Lee. There are girls out there who appreciate you. If you gave them half a chance, they'd give you the affection you deserve."

He shrugged. "It's not true that there are prettier girls out there. Sakura-san… you're _beautiful!_"

That struck me like an extra rock to the head. Sure, I've got nice hair, but right then it looked like a bird's nest. I was sweaty, sitting on a rock, and between the mornings rock hits and all the stings, I had welts on top of welts on top of welts. I was sure my face was ghastly – only useful for frightening young children.

Well, I'd done my best. I didn't have the heart to trample his feelings any further, so I changed the subject.

"Can we talk about training?"

"If you wish."

"What do you do when you hit The Wall?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You know," I insisted. "You're training, and there's that place where you just can't give any more. You know that if you could only push a little harder, _force_ yourself to move a little faster or lift a little more, then you could make a major breakthrough. But instead, you run face first into The Wall. And you're stuck there. What do you do?"

He nodded. "Oh, that. I force myself through it. I make it so that it would be even more painful if I _don't_ get through the wall. So if 'the wall' is doing another fifty sit-ups, for example, I tell myself that if I _don't_ do that, then I'll have to run laps around the entire city fifty times, perhaps. And then I stick to that promise."

I just gaped at him. "That's … utterly insane. That's even more insane than my father's methods!"

"Your father?"

I laughed uncomfortably, reaching around to scratch the back of my head. "Previous life, I mean."

"The wolves and marinade sauce was his idea?" Lee guessed.

"Yeah. Actually he tied raw steak to my body. I think the sauce is cheaper and more effective. And he rode on top of me in a couch. But yeah, that's how he pushed me past the wall. That and insults. Between fear and rage, I never even noticed the wall. He was actually pretty good at that."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

With my sewing done and my mind calmed, for the moment, we decided to switch up and do some free weights. I was starting to get a little strength. I was typically curling 200 kg, one-handed, but doing a lot of repetitions. I needed that breakthrough to move up to real strength. I finished the set of exercises, then racked the weights.

"Lee? Hinata? You think maybe we could do the run now, and do lunch a little late?"

With his typically serious expression, Lee nodded tightly. "If that's what you want, Sakura-san."

Hinata put down the pestle. "You should check to see if I mixed this correctly."

I sampled the mixture, feeling the texture and also judging through scent and a tiny taste.

"That's perfect, Hinata."

"Do you have more marinade?" the shy girl asked.

"Not today," I decided. "I don't think the wolves will be fast enough, even though I'm shifting up to heavier weights. I want you and Lee to double-team me and go for wounds that really hurt. I need to kick the adrenaline up."

"But, Sakura-san," Lee protested, "you said your chakra was blocked, so how could you heal—?"

"I've been thinking about that."

I pulled back my left sleeve and summoned a chakra scalpel at my right index finger. Medic-nins have to train until they can form one almost instantly, even without seals. I used it to cut a thin line down the inside of my forearm.

"My problem before was that I was molding chakra inside my body. Of course, that's not the way we start out, is it? As kids, everyone first learns to mold _outside_ the body. Physical energy in the right hand, spiritual in the left, then you mold as you make seals, molding and knotting it at the same time."

They both nodded.

"And within a year, everyone (except for maybe a dead-last student) is molding _inside_ the body, and just channeling finished chakra into the seal. It's harder to detect, and faster, and you don't look like some inexperienced kid. Right?"

Lee moped a little. "Except I could never get any energy at all – either physical or spiritual."

"So if I pull both physical and spiritual energy out of my body, and only mold it into chakra _outside_…"

I went through the seals with my right hand. The really powerful healings require both hands, but I should be able to manage this with a lesser wound closing effect. I carefully grasped the two energies with my fingertips, squeezing them together as I weaved them into a knot, as I passed through the signs.

"…then bingo!"

As I passed my hand down my left forearm, the small gash pulled closed again, showing unblemished skin.

"See?"

I displayed my forearm for both teammates.

Hinata looked unconvinced. "I do not like the idea of trying to hurt our only medic."

"You can do first aid, right? And the village is only a couple of kilometers. Besides, if I'm going to be a good medic, I need the evasion training. And if I'm going to win against Neji, I need the pressure to break past this wall. You both have to scare me, which means we need to get serious."

Hinata's under-confident mood was bringing me down. I needed a psychological boost.

"You agree?" I asked again. "The course is out to the old temple, then back to the lake. I'm free and clear when I hit the water, and I get a sixty-second pass after hitting the temple obelisk."

They spent a moment getting their gear ready for the chase.

"Lee, could you turn around for a second?" I asked.

"Why?"

As his back turned, I called out, "Special technique: _quick change!_"

This had been perfected and used by many of the Jusenkyo curse victims I'd known. It's how Oyaji, Ryoga, and Mousse were able to transform and appear fully clothed. Shampoo never seemed to use it, preferring to remain naked as she clung to me. I'd known the dressing technique, but didn't get to use it often, due to someone clinging to me (for example, Shampoo).

Now I used it to switch out of my blouse-skirt combo into the Tarzan-girl ragged fur halter and micro-skirt. By the time Lee finished his spin, I was adjusting the fur bands at my wrists and ankles. They held the weights. I still wasn't up to Lee's load, but I was closing the gap.

Lee paused and stared. "Sakura-san, you look so… _wild!_" Clenching both fists he began to shout as he shook his head theatrically, "Oh, Gai-sensei! How you would weep to see your poor student, almost consumed from within by the blazing fire of his young heart!"

"Lee-san?" Hinata asked sweetly, while grinding her teeth, "Could you wait for us over there, on that far rock? I need to talk to Sakura-san for a moment."

"Yes! Oh, yes how I will wait!" The green grasshopper of Konoha bounded away.

Still grinding her teeth, Hinata approached and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Uh, nice grip, Hinata."

"I thought you were done flirting with Lee-san! That's not very nice, you know!"

"I talked to him this morning," I said, in my own defense. "I explained about Sasuke and my feelings and everything! I swear, it just bounced right off!"

"So now it's okay to taunt him with that… _outfit?_"

I thought about how to explain it. "It's not for him, it's for me. I'm trying to move past my current plateau. To do that, I need everything I can get pushing in the right direction. Dressed like this, and I admit, with the warmth of Lee's reaction, I'm feel pretty good about myself. Confident, aggressive, powerful. I'm not sure if I could handle it if anyone else saw me wearing this, but it's different with just you and Lee. Can you understand, Hinata?"

A Hinata frown was like an enraged scowl on another person. "…Perhaps. I don't have to like it, though."

"Then channel your irritation into aggression," I suggested. "Cut me with your kunai. Make me scared. Make me work for this!"

After a moment, she nodded.

Unable to leave well enough alone, I added melodically, "Help me out and I'll make an outfit like this for you."

That got her already-large eyes to pop a little wider. "I could never…!"

"Naruto gets back in a couple of months." I almost sang it to her. "Maybe you and I both dress like this. You could do it if you weren't the only girl, right? And we have another little training session in the woods, like this one? Naruto's back, only he's grown, and he's even faster and stronger… And maybe, during one jump, you slip. When he's just coming up below you. You fall, and he'd have to catch you. His strong arms wrapping around you… This outfit exposes a lot of skin, hmmm?"

It turns out that Hinata could blush really well. Actually everyone had discovered that about her years ago. But still, she took on a bit of a crazed smile as she thought it over.

Spinning scenarios like that was no challenge for me. I had about a thousand years of thinking them up, only involving me and Sasuke. Still, it did the trick.

"Oooooh," she finally decided. "Deal! _If_ you survive. I'll give you fifteen seconds. Go!"

Whaddya know. Hinata has the same drives simmering inside her that any other girl possesses. Laughing like a maniac, I leapt off, zooming past Lee and shouting, "Catch me if you can!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Ranma-me loved it, Sakura-me loved it, and I expect probably every shinobi that's ever lived has loved it. The sheer exhilaration of leaping from branch to branch, soaring through the air propelled by your own muscles, that has got to be one of the best things in the world about being a shinobi. It takes only the tiniest burst of chakra to cause muscles to kick off like catapults. Likewise, landing and shooting off in a new direction powered half by native strength, and half by the near-magic of chakra.

Except that some of us, Lee and me, couldn't use our chakra like that. Lee just didn't have the stuff, and if I tried to use it, I'd blow up my legs. So Lee managed through sheer unbelievable muscle power, while I was making do with the combination of muscles plus ki. Only, I wasn't up to matching Lee yet. And Hinata was as fast as Lee, because she had chakra. So I wasn't just outclassed once, I was outclassed _twice_.

Well, the exercise was meant to push me. Between the excitement of the race and the fear of getting slashed open with a kunai, I was at the very edge of what I could accomplish. My mind was operating on the instinctive level. And more often than not, I found my moves to be ever so slightly … feline.

I'd been happy to discover that I hadn't inherited Ranma's truly gruesome phobia. In fact, looking back I found that I'd been able to remember the events and actions that had occurred under the influence of the neko-ken. For Ranma, it had been an astonishingly effective fighting style, with invincible ki claws, and the agility of a cat. Unfortunately, it had also included the brains of a cat, meaning that the "killer fighter" could be distracted by a ball of yarn or a squeaky mouse toy.

As I fled through the trees, I tried reaching for those memories and skills. I couldn't seem to call up any ki claws. But … there were memories of motion, how to move and react, how to listen to the world. It wasn't the neko-ken, but it was the memory of being a cat and moving like a cat. Exactly as it was with my memories of being Ranma, it took practice to use the skills of that ancient self, but with repetition they became easier.

I didn't want to move _entirely_ like a cat. Most of Ranma's moves were fabulous. And in a few places, the style we used in Konoha was better. And some places, the different approach that a cat used was smoother, or more fluid, or allowed you to bring more muscles into play. Or it just provided an unexpected twist.

So, as I moved, there were awkward moments but there were also periods – longer and longer, as the chase continued – where I was able to achieve something of a fusion between the three styles. Konoha-style tree-travel, but with the unpredictable aerial evasions of the forgotten Anything Goes school, topped with a feline grace.

Clad as I was in my furred and spotted Tarzan-Girl outfit, I would have felt like hot stuff, if it wasn't for the fact that Lee and Hinata kept crisscrossing my path, slicing across me with their kunai. I didn't have the strength or speed to match either of them yet, not without using chakra. But I was beginning to beat them on sheer elegance.

I shot forward from one branch, soaring through mid-air on my way to my next perch. Suddenly, there was a thunk to my left as Hinata rebounded off a trunk, shooting toward me with her kunai poised. I curled and spun, changing position in the air. Instead of her passing over my back, now I was above her with my claws poised above _her_ back! I snatched the single kunai sheathed at my hip and prepared to give her such a scratch!

But then the leaves shook and branches broke as Lee came plummeting straight down through the foliage, aiming to impact us both.

I twisted again, Kicking off Hinata's back and shooting away from Lee's drop. I reached a different branch, then took a triple-ricochet, attempting to foil my pursuers. But they had speed on me. As soon as my path began to bend toward my destination again, they converged on me once more – this time with Lee leading the attack.

And so we made our way deeper into the forest – kunai flashing, parrying, sometimes leaving a long scratch (usually on me) – as we bounced like pinballs through high branches of the forest, nearly twenty meters above the ground.

My moves and style finally began to come together as we reached the obelisk in the ancient stone temple. I bounced off that, yelling, "TAG! I get a 60-second head start!"

My moves had come together, but now my muscles were starting to feel the burn, as the weights at my wrists and ankles began to take their toll. I needed every bit of that head-start, as I scrambled into a sprint. This time, when they caught up with me, they were twice as vicious.

To be fair, both of them were going for scratches – usually only a couple of millimeters deep. And they seemed to have agreed that my skimpy outfit was off limits. Which was fine for modesty, but I'd left an awful lot of skin exposed. And while the scratches didn't bleed that much, it adds up after a while.

So it was with enormous relief that I finally saw the lake come into view.

"I win!" I yelled, launching into a long, horizontal high-dive from the nearest treetop.

"Not yet!" Lee called, flinging nearly a dozen rapid-fire shuriken at me.

Go figure, I didn't know the boy had it in him.

I flipped and rolled, now facing backward. Just to show off, I plucked one of the shuriken out of the air as it whizzed past. I was going to return it, but instead I aimed to block the small squadron of kunai that Hinata flung my way. I knocked the first out of the air, then rolled aside to let the rest miss, then flipped around for a head-first entry into the lake.

By the time I'd swum to the far side, my two companions were waiting. Hinata had just run across the top of the lake – the cheater!

I could barely drag myself out of the water. I looked like I'd been swimming through thorn bushes, and my arms and legs felt like noodles.

"NOW we have lunch!" Hinata insisted.

"One… minute…" I gasped. "I'm close… I can feel it."

"What you're feeling is the last stages of exhaustion," Lee told me. "You can barely move. This is no time for speed training."

"Twenty minute rest," I begged. "Then we try it. I think I can do it!"

Hinata grumbled, but went to work on the stew.

"Thirty minutes," Lee insisted, "and I rub down your arms and legs, first."

"Deal." I collapsed back into a camp chair, with all the grace of overcooked udon.

Lee started with my arms first, so I'd have the strength to hold my bowl and eat. I sat there and accepted his devotion, trying not to acknowledge that it was highly erotic, the way his incredibly powerful hands manipulated my loose and helpless muscles. Fortunately, I'd anticipated this, and sewn small shields of stiff plastic into the cups of my top this time. It was a little less comfortable, and a lot less embarrassing.

Even Hinata couldn't complain about the attention I was receiving right now – it really was part of the training. So I lay there like a lump while he worked his magic fingers into my arms, then legs, massaging in the thick green good of the ki conditioning salve. I recorded it all as prime material for my fantasies later.

Then, trembling but mobile, I headed for the center of the quarry, where the speed training ground was set up. I was still clad in my "jungle sexy" outfit. When I pulled off the fur-covered wrist and ankle bands I felt so light it was like I was floating.

"Are you sure about this?" Lee asked. "You're trembling."

I was. It was like an extremely bad case of shivers. It was half exhaustion, and half that sort of racehorse anticipation just before the race.

"I'm ready," I insisted. "It feels right, you know? I'm right on the edge of doing it!"

My two friends both nodded. We'd all been there.

I moved into the center. "Begin!"

Lee picked up a beehive and chucked it at me. Then he started the rock cannon. Hinata did the same.

I was starting to get stung, but I was deflecting all the rocks, even those coming in from behind me. I was moving fast, I think faster than I had this morning. Just not fast enough!

I focused harder. My arms, legs, my entire body was glowing with energy. It wasn't visible on the outside, but I could feel it.

Then I messed up. Just once.

WHACK!

A rock nailed me in the back of the head. I raised my hands to the wound, taking a dozen stings in the time that took. For a moment, everything wavered. I could barely see the two other rocks approaching from opposite directions. This was going to hurt…

And suddenly, there was another rock there. Rock Lee, appearing like magic in front of me. He backfisted the first stone, and it shattered to dust. The other slammed into the back of his head with a sickening CRACK.

He, too, wavered for a moment. The hornets noticed, and began their descent.

There had to be three hundred hornets. It was an angry cloud. Stopping them with your hands was insane – ludicrous. Lee was about to be covered in blisters.

And just like that, it was there. Like a light turning on, I felt my arms and knew I could do it. I reached up… and my arms _blurred!_

The blur lasted just a moment until my eyes caught up, too. My arms shot out, (smack, smack) swatting a pair of hornets aside. There was a small cluster hanging … there. I gave a smack smack smack, hitting each insect just hard enough to flick it a dozen meters away – broken and dead. Power is unimportant when fighting insects, only speed and precision matter. Using both hands now, I flicked, plucked, swatted, and slapped. In much less than a second, the air around Lee was clear. As an almost idle afterthought, I reached up to deflect the incoming rock, tapping it sideways to miss us both.

Lee's eyes bulged even larger than normal. "W-w-WOW! That was _incredible!_"

I smiled in pure joy. "I finally got it! And now… no more ki."

I collapsed slowly enough that Lee was able to catch me.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

I rode Lee's back to get back home. Perhaps I pushed myself a little too far. I didn't even have enough energy to change out of my skimpy outfit. I did not want to face Mom while being almost too weak to stand, and wearing a fur bikini.

Hinata finally took mercy on me and leant me a mission cloak. I made a note to carry one from now on in a hidden weapons pocket. I had enough strength to use that.

I used the key to let myself into the front door. There was no way I could leap up to my window. I have never been more exhausted in my life, and seldom more pleased with myself.

Sure enough, Mom was waiting up for me.

Her stern expression betrayed nothing. "Good training session?"

I nodded. "Really good. I had a breakthrough."

"Wonderful."

The tone was flat, nearly sarcastic. She was _very_ unhappy.

"So maybe you can justify taking a little time off. Enough time to tell me about this 'Haruno Clan' that I don't recall being a part of."

Oh dear.

END OF CHAPTER 6

Next chapter: Sakura vs. Neji!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Previously:** It is near the end of the "timeskip", shortly before Naruto Part 2 begins. As the last step of her training under Tsunade, Sakura learned the super-secret reincarnation jutsu. In Tsunade's case, it messed up her life but granted super strength. In Sakura's case she remembered her previous life as someone named "Saotome Ranma." She knows Ranma's techniques and secrets, but still needs to retrain her body. Her first problem: ki is not chakra, and gaining ki may have messed up her chakra. Her second problem: a new viewpoint has helped her realize that she's been truly rotten to Naruto. He's not her love, but he was supposed to be her friend. So she's set out to help Hinata and Naruto get together. Her third problem: The Hyuga clan doesn't appreciate interference from outsiders, and they handle problems the same way any good ninja would: through assassination!

"You want to start your own clan?" my mother shouted the question as if I were some sort of lunatic.

"Well why not?" I demanded. "Every clan was started by _someone_. Where do you think they come from?"

"Not from teenage girls who can't even manage their own love life!"

"Oh, that was a low blow, mother!" She was starting to make me mad. "This has nothing to do with Sasuke!"

"No, what it has to do is making your mother look like a fool in front of anyone influential in this village. I do good work here! You think the city rebuilds itself, when we suffer something like the Exam Invasion? Hell, no! It takes the planning, sweat, and toil of all the regular people in this village, working together for the common good. You think reinforced roofs build themselves? You think the streets turn into a maze of entrapments all on their own? To do my job, I have to negotiate with the clans, the merchants, construction, and practically every trade in the city. I can't do that when you're off making our family into a laughingstock!"

"You didn't complain when I became Tsunade-sama's apprentice!"

"That's because you were helping me, back then! But you told me that you're dropping that, too!"

"I'm not breaking off with her! I finished my apprenticeship. I'm moving to take on more field work." I managed to rein in my voice, trying to bring this back to a manageable argument.

"Well, fine!" my mother said. I was hoping the argument would settle down, but she had to get in a last dig. "Maybe with you out of the village, you won't be embarrassing yourself so badly."

"Oooooh, that's it Mother! _What is your problem?_"

"My problem is this whole 'clan' fiasco. Haruno Clan? What a joke! You don't know the first thing about putting together a clan! Where are you going to get the money? Do you know how much it costs to buy even the tiniest estate in the Clan District? How are you going to get the respect of the other clans? How are you going to negotiate with them? Do you expect to have a representative on the council? For that matter, who's going to be in this so-called 'Haruno Clan'?"

I decided then and there that whatever happened, once I formed my clan (and I would!) that maybe I wouldn't call it the 'Haruno Clan', just to spite her!

"Well," I said sweetly, "the clan would consist of me," My mother rolled her eyes at that. "Hyuga Hinata, the former heir of the Hyuga Clan – perhaps you've heard of them?" Mother looked shocked at that. She should have known better when my tone got all sugary. "Uzumaki Naruto. I don't know if you've heard of him. He's been training with one of the sannin. Additional membership is still being discussed."

Considering that the whole point of the exercise was to find some way to let Hinata marry Naruto, it didn't make much sense unless they were both in the clan. And I went along because… well, because it was my idea. Besides, I was the one who would pay for it. And probably set it up, and make it work. Ugg.

Mother was skeptical, but no longer sounded quite so shrewish. Jeez, I hope I hadn't picked any of that up from her!

"And you're telling me that some Hyuga Clan elder actually went along with this?"

I tipped my head back, as if thoughtfully considering. "Hmmm, does Hyuga Hiashi count?"

"_He_ agreed to this?"

"No," I admitted. "I would describe our discussion as 'early.' As you know, Hyuga-sama is a rather impressive negotiator. He hardly went out on a limb. The best I could say that he agreed to was 'plausible' and 'if you can impress me, we'll talk.' That's why _I_ haven't been saying anything about a new clan. So I don't know where you heard your rumors."

She narrowed her eyes. "So all you have to do is impress Hyuga Hiashi."

"…and the Hyuga Clan elders," I admitted.

"And how, exactly, do you expect to do that?" she demanded.

"By beating Hyuga Neji in a match." I enjoyed the look of shock on her face. "In front of those same clan elders. I'm afraid I can't go into details – high clan secrets – but while they don't exactly involve a bloodline limit, it's something of that nature. Hence, the need for a clan."

"But… you don't have a bloodline limit," she said, dumbfounded. "I'm your mother. I'd know! And, defeating Hyuga Neji in combat? That's impossible! Especially for someone like you!"

"Maybe I'll surprise you. Now if you'll excuse me, I've been training all day, and I'm exhausted."

I did manage to remain standing long enough to walk upstairs, but only because I was energized by rage.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A good night of sleep and a few large meals had me fully recovered. My muscles were trembling in eagerness, my ki was literally bursting to be used. That had me up early and out at the quarry not too long after dawn. Lee and Hinata wouldn't be here for a few hours, and there were other aspects of my training that I'd been neglecting.

The first order of business was kick and punch training. This is the most basic of the basics, but whenever you change significantly in power or capability, you really want to go back and work though things from the very beginning. It's like a musician tuning their instrument. No matter how advanced you are, you still need to do your scales.

Even back at the Tendo Dojo, we'd had the traditional training posts set up. Small phone poles worked well, or ten-by-ten posts could do. You then wrapped those with centimeter-thick manila rope. The post served as a target, and you could throw punch after punch into it. They were good for kick practice, too, particularly high kicks.

There are a lot of valuable things you get from this simple exercise. The rough rope helps in body toughening, increasing the strength of the skin where you perform kicks and punches. Beginners start with soft hands. Experts gain a thick layer of callous. Ki masters return to hands that appear soft, but become more durable than steel when needed. The exercise helps you get your whole body moving right, so that you put your arm into the punch, and your shoulder, and hips, and even legs. The rope has enough give that it helps reinforce that you're not punching the surface, but rather you're aiming for a place five or six centimeters inside the surface.

There are other substitutes you can use. Lee generally performed this exercise on trees. Back in the Tendo Dojo, even Akane could punch her way through a phone pole. If we were lucky, a pole would last for an entire training session. That girl always went through her training supplies far too quickly.

I found myself in a quarry, with slabs of naked basalt on every side.

Perfect.

I hopped out of my pit for a moment, and set up the metronome. This was an exercise I'd modified from something Oyaji used to teach.

Tick tick tick tick

Punch punch punch pucnch

In perfect time with the metronome, I began my punches, slamming into the basalt. It didn't take many hits before I was making gavel, but the tricky footing only made things more interesting.

Tick tick tick tick

Kick kick kick kick

The rhythm of this type of training pushes a lot of serious fighters into a pattern that was as regular as clockwork. My school was Anything Goes. A fundamental principle was that any pattern was a weakness to be exploited. I released myself from the conscious constraints.

Tick tick tick tick

Punch knee punch kick kick elbow

I had been training so long that my form was perfect – at the start of training, at the end of training, even at the end of a fight when I was dropping from injury and exhaustion. Perfect and without conscious thought. Not only that, my patterns were random. Again without conscious thought. If my opponent was a metronome, I was random static, unpredictable noise. My movements would throw off their patterns, producing faults and holes. You couldn't block me in one spot, you had to block me everywhere. The only predictability lay in the fact that I had to close for elbow and knee strikes, and that close strikes came faster. But that was simple physics.

This corner was starting to crumble too fast, so I hopped over to another corner, moving my metronome.

Ki and chakra were very different. Chakra would allow you to move your body and limbs at incredible speeds. But it did this by creating a burst of power, which simulated a muscle contraction, only more powerfully. You could pre-program these, creating combination moves faster than humanly possible. In some cases, they were faster than ki movements allowed.

Well, perhaps Cologne or Happosai could have beaten them.

Ki was different. It took the body and improved it, replacing muscle and bone with some sort of hybrid muscle and bone that were powered and reinforced by bio-energy. The nerves and reflexes increased in speed; the muscles pulled harder and contracted faster. Even under a special technique like the _amaguriken_, your reactions and body movements sped up. It didn't have to be a pattern.

Tick tick tick tick

Knee, 53-punch, 29-kick, elbow, head bash, kick

The main problem with this sort of training was you had to keep moving, because if you put any decent strength into the training, you ended up wrecking your training facilities pretty quickly.

"Holy #&!"

I froze, one leg raised in preparation for a kick.

"Hinata? You're early. And when did you learn to swear like that?"

"I rushed in faster," she explained, "when I heard someone using explosive tags at our training ground. I didn't realize… Are you punching _stone?_ With your _fist?_"

"It's no big deal." I slammed my knuckles into the basalt slab next to me, fracturing it into ruble like a crate of oversized cabbages. "This is just basic stuff. If you want impressive you'll have to wait until I get trained up on the _bakusai tenketsu_. Anyway, this is hardly a good test." I reached down to pick up a cabbage-sized rock in my right hand, then squeezed. "This isn't the best quality basalt. Too crumbly." I let the bits of gravel sift through my fingers.

Hinata let loose with another string of vulgarities that primarily linked sacred phrases with a catalog of excrement, for a somewhat disturbing overall effect, particularly coming from her.

"I have fallen in love anew!"

I realized belatedly that Lee had also witnessed my little demonstration.

"Please sensei, I'll do anything if you will teach me your secrets!"

"You'll be my first student, Lee," I promised. "But you'll have to wait for a while. I'm still getting the basics under control. I need to get really trained up and comfortable in my mastery before I accept my first student."

His eyes could not get rounder, but they did get wider. "You mean… there's _more?_"

"Uh, this is the _start_ of my training. You know that, right? This is just so I can fight Neji. Real training takes a bit longer."

"I'm suddenly feeling much more nervous about our sparring," Hinata admitted.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Despite her nervousness, Hinata was no slouch. Hinata being Hinata, it took forever to drag the story out of her. Naruto left for several years of training with the Toad-hermit sannin. I'd been learning medicine from Tsunade, another sannin. And, of course, Sasuke had been learning whatever he could from Orochimaru, the third and most dangerous of the sannin.

Hinata had known most of that, though she hadn't seen the pattern until I discussed it. In a way, Naruto, Sasuke, and I were under the most pressure. As if learning from the legendary three wasn't enough, stepping into their shoes and assuming their legendary status, we all upped the ante. Sasuke had gained a cursed seal with mysterious powers. I was learning martial arts and ki mastery from a long-lost world. And Naruto? Apparently he had learned the neko-ken somewhere. That explained the cat-whiskers on his cheeks, and how in dire straits he would turn bestial and then suddenly win the fight.

Hinata hadn't seen the whole pattern until recently, but she'd seen enough to worry about being left behind in the dust. Being both clever and determined to be worthy of her love (I sure sympathized with her there) she had taken the pinnacle of Hyuga Clan arts, and improved on them.

"If Neji is defending," she said, "you might see him use the _hakkeshou kaiten_ – the Eight Sign Heavenly Spin. He will use his hands and feet to block in an intricate pattern, while spinning. He will have 360 degrees of vision. His blocks will be faster than the eye can follow. Nothing, _nothing_ can get through. It is the ultimate Hyuga-style defense, and it has withstood every challenge for generations and through many shinobi wars."

"A perfect defense never allows you to win," I pointed out.

"True," Hinata agreed, surprising me. "Which is why I improved on the technique. My _shugo hakke rokujuuyonshou_ – the Eight Sign, Sixty-four Palms – combines the heavenly spin with other attack techniques. Not only do I block everything, anything that comes inside my reach is immediately sliced to bits."

"That still sounds like mainly a defense…" But I wasn't so sure, this time.

"Yes," she agreed demurely, "unless the enemy can be lured or goaded into attacking. I can also move forward, though I prefer not to."

"I don't really want to get my arms sliced off," I mentioned.

"I can lower the amount of chakra I use," she suggested. "In return, I'm hoping that you won't use _your_ full strength."

"Of course not!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Sparring with Hinata was a learning experience. She's so cute and shy that you don't really expect her to be the deadliest killer ever produced by the foremost clan in a village of assassins.

Perhaps that's an exaggeration. She and Neji seem to be neck-and-neck in the running for the top spot. Here's a clan that's had generations to perfect their own specialized taijutsu. And now, in a single generation, two separate practitioners have created brilliant new extensions. Hinata took the old "heavenly spin" and turned it into "heavenly spin plus vegematic". I swear, you could chuck a bag of potatoes at her and wind up with julienne fries. Meanwhile, Neji had created the "air palm". This allows him to sit in the middle of his well-defended circle, while he uses semi-solid columns of air to punch at you from a distance.

Only the creators had mastered the new techniques so far, so I couldn't train against the air palm. Managing the heavenly spin was enough.

But that was before I tried the _amaguriken_.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

For lunch, I brought up a new subject.

"I, uh, talked to my mom about the new clan," I admitted. "Well, not really a talk, more like a screaming match. She seems to think that we can't even think about forming a clan unless we can afford to buy an estate in the Clan District. And we'd better be able to swing enough council votes to let us in, and we'd better be able to swing them granting us a seat on the council, or it's all moot."

"Oh," Hinata said. "I hadn't really thought about that."

"The Hyuga Clan must have archives," I mused. "Maybe you can find out what they did, when they got started."

Lee was munching his sandwich with a quiet dedication. Now he forced himself to swallow, almost choking. "I have a history of the Inuzuka Clan," he revealed. "Kiba gave it to me as a gift. It has all sorts of letters back and forth from the founding members."

"Perfect!" I gushed. "We particularly want to find out what sort of promises and treaties and political negotiations they needed to become a clan."

"How will this affect your ambition to become an Uchiha?" Hinata asked. "They were one of the major clans. And while they haven't been officially disbanded or taken over, you know people are just waiting for those lands and assets to come free."

"I don't know," I admitted. "I… I don't really want to think about that right now. One thing at a time, okay?"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And so passed the remaining days of my training. Sparring with both Hinata, who knew Neji's style and could duplicate most of it, and Lee, who regularly sparred against Neji. I'd practice my form and timing, we'd do sparring, and plot strategy during meals.

Poor Neji had never even _seen_ my moves.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When _The Day_ arrived, I had one big question: Slow or fast?

No matter how much his uncle had prepared him, Neji would be surprised by some of my moves. He had to be. Most of his moves, in contrast, had been either explained to me or I had actually sparred against them. I was confident that I could beat him, as least for this first match. But more than beating him, I needed to impress the clan elders. So the question was, which would accomplish that better? Making the fight seem like a long, drawn-out struggle? Or a quick smack-down?

Before that, though, was the pomp and ceremony at the clan compound. That passed in a bit of a blur before me. I was focused on the fight to come. I do remember one thing clearly, and that's the emotions shown by the clan leader Hyuga Hiashi. Or perhaps I should say, the lofty tone that he chose to display. The key word here was "disdain."

We were escorted into the clan compound by a set of Hyuga guards. Deep inside they had a walled training field, with a square of false trees marching around the field's perimeter. Along one wall was a set of bleacher seats, with an audience of older and elderly Hyuga clan members in attendance.

On one side, we had Hyuga Hiashi, and standing beside him like a blank slate was Neji.

On our side was me, Hinata, and Lee, who was dragging a cart with some equipment.

"I thank you for your indulgence this morning," Hyuga-sama said, speaking to the stands. "Challenges to the clan arrive infrequently enough. Whether for honor, or vengeance, or merely to test our strength, we have long considered it our duty to accept open challenges. Occasionally, these have provided new insight, allowing further refinement of our arts. Usually, it provides a greater lesson for the village, and those who would challenge our supremacy. Either way, it serves to educate and improve the clan, the village, and our way of life.

"Today's situation is particularly remarkable. The challenger is the Hokage's apprentice. Though known for her medical talent more than any combat skills, Haruno Sakura has been undergoing intensive training this past week at the hands of Hinata, with whom you are all, of course, quite familiar.

"Haruno-_san_," I thought there was the slightest ironic jab, as he pronounced the honorific, "will be seeing how long she can last in single combat against Neji, with whom you are also, doubtlessly, quite familiar."

Hyuga-sama then turned to me. "Does the challenger have any words?"

"I will let my actions speak for themselves," I called out. "Once I have defeated Neji I will have more to say, and then we'd like to give a small demonstration."

_That_ raised more than a few eyebrows. Not the demonstration part, but the automatic assumption that I would beat Neji.

Lee and Hinata moved behind a barrier on the far side, leaving me alone with Neji in the center of the field.

Hyuga-sama had moved up to the Hyuga stands.

On Hinata's face, the large blank eyes that are the Hyuga birthright look soft and caring. Perhaps that's just me, adding in my personal bias. But when you take in the expressions, vulnerability, and concern that is so evident on Hinata's face, her eyes seem to take on even more of that, becoming gentle pools that reflect a delicate soul.

Neji is something different. Neji was scarred by his childhood, as so many of my friends have been. He grew up with seething resentment and the absolute knowledge that all things Hyuga were clearly superior to anything else. Those two together had led him to almost kill Hinata in the chunin prelims. Then in the final exam, Naruto gave Neji a wake-up call.

Maybe he's been backsliding for the last couple of years. Talking to Lee and TenTen, the guy had started to come out of his shell for a while. Maybe the clan clamped down or something, because he'd been a lot more sullen lately.

Now, facing him in the sands of the practice arena, I brushed a strand of hair back and wondered how he wanted this fight to go. His eyes, unlike Hinata's, were a blank slate. I searched his face for meaning, but all I could see was the reflection of my own guesses. Lifeless and robotic? Maybe. Uncaring? Furious and hiding behind a mask? Friendly, and hiding it under an even stronger mask? I couldn't tell. His clothes didn't give much of a clue, either. He'd given up the bulky clan coat in favor of light grey robes not unlike a gi. Over that he had a darker waist cloak, giving his arms maximum freedom of motion. As ever, his forehead protector covered the slave seal on his brow.

I'd chosen to dress conservatively – my red shirt-skirt with the black shorts underneath. Heh. Good old red top and black pants. Even across multiple lifetimes, some things never change. This was an outfit that I wore for a lot of my duties as the Hokage's apprentice, so I figured the elders couldn't possibly be offended.

Shows what I knew.

"How do you want to do this?" I called softly to Neji. "A friendly spar? Brutal and hard?"

He dropped into the Juken stance. "You realize that I am a jonin now? Anything less than a brutal takedown will be seen as negligence on my part."

I nodded. I was in the classic Anything Goes doesn't-look-like-a-stance. "One warning, Neji. Don't judge me on what you remember of me. Treat me like a complete unknown."

He nodded with a quick jerk of his chin.

"Begin!" Hyuga-sama called.

And with a move almost too fast to follow, Neji blurred forward, striking for my vitals with juken jabs that had a tingle of energy glowing forward from each fingertip. His thrusts blurred inward, the index and middle fingers tight together and spearing for my vitals – heart, throat, abdomen, shoulders.

But to me, he might as well have been in slow motion. As I'd done with Ryoga, a lifetime ago, I caught his jabbing fingers between my index and middle fingers. Back when I'd developed this block, Ryoga had mastered the _bakusai tenketsu_, the "breaking point." One touch of the breaking point explodes a rock like you'd placed a full stick of dynamite in the rock's center. At the time, I thought it could explode people the same way. So to avoid the lethal fingertips, I held Ryoga's fingers like a bored socialite would hold a cigarette. Now I blocked Neji the same way, and he was getting just as pissed by the seeming disrespect as Ryoga had gotten.

Scowling, now, he began to move faster, using chakra to accelerate his limbs faster than humanly possible.

Still I blocked him, and more. I slipped my first punch through his guard.

"What—?"

Despite using chakra to anchor his feet, the strength of my hit shoved him back almost three meters.

"I told you not to judge me by my past," I reminded.

He blurred forward again, striking for my tenketsu points. This time I had to go all out to block. Neji's problem was that he had a strong rhythm, allowing me to anticipate and slip in counterstrikes. Slowly, I began to push him back.

But Neji had a bit of a smile as he gave ground. Something stabbed my danger sense, and I leapt back away from Neji, moving at the same moment he did.

An explosive tag erupted, cratering the ground where we'd been standing.

"Neji," I said in admiration, "you sly devil! And here I thought you were going to be stuck with just the clan styles!"

His smile was grim. "You pick up a thing or two, on the way to becoming a jonin."

He made a quick seal, then clenched his hand like a claw and pulled it back. Then he shoved forward, shouting, "Air palm!"

Despite the fact that Hinata had briefed me on this, it was surprising to see. It reminded me of Kuno, from a previous life. He'd done the same thing with ki, stabbing forward with his bokken so hard that it created compressed columns of air. Bolts of air that had held enough energy to shatter stone. Neji's move was much like that, but wider and faster. And I wasn't quite up to the level I'd been at, back when I'd dodged around Kuno's strikes.

The first hit got me while I was still in the air, knocking me for a loop, literally. But like a cat (I can smile at that, these days), I always land on my feet. I smirked at Neji – this was the sort of challenge I lived for! Fists clenched at my sides, grinning like a maniac, I launched myself forward, moving and dodging at nearly full speed.

As expected, Neji saw the first move and changed techniques.

Using chakra is so much different from ki usage. Personally, I believe that the "spiritual" component of chakra is something akin to telepathy, or some sort of mental control field, perhaps. I know that when a user creates an advanced chakra technique, it is usually necessary to create complex visualizations. For just a moment, the pattern of movement and mental circuitry must be utterly sharp within the mind. Some visualizations even involve other senses, given a scent or mood or even music to the mental patterns. But strangest of all is that experienced chakra users can often glean just a flash of those internal images when an opponent sets them up. So it was with Neji, and the _Heavenly Spin_.

In less than an instant, I had the impression of a complex set of movements, and the image of actual kanji floating in space – I thought I saw trigrams from the I-Ching. Then, Neji began to spin, hands moving faster than the eye could see. A globe of chakra wound like a ball of yarn began to expand outward, and everything near Neji was blasted away as I saw the next best thing to a perfect force field snap into existence.

I slammed against that bubble and bounced, once more somersaulting in the air to land on my feet. I wasn't worried, though. Hinata had mastered the same technique, and I had trained against it. Even better, I had a counter!

"It's good, Neji," I admitted. "But even a perfect defense can't _win_ a fight."

The spinning figure within called out, "No? Then perhaps you haven't seen my new addition – _Air Palm!_"

And with scarcely a blink, the bubble flickered and an invisible _something_ was shooting toward me!

I dodged to the side. "Can't hurt me if you can't hit me!"

Thanks to ki, my eyes were fast enough to make out the features on Neji's face, even as he spun. And strangely enough, he was smirking.

My danger sense suddenly spiked, hard. _Behind me!_

All at once, I understood. After this fight, Hinata and I planned a small demonstration. We would use some of the equipment used for training clan members. I had already used ninja training devices intended to launch small tennis balls. I'd upgraded them to throw rocks. Hinata had eventually revealed that the Hyuga Clan had similar devices, intended to train the _Heavenly Spin_. They launched senbon needles, kunai, and even fist-sized rocks, at extremely high speed. From Hinata's description, I knew that the _Heavenly Spin_, when performed by a master, could deflect them all. To reach that level, there were projectile launchers around the entire circumference of the arena. And I realized that Neji had maneuvered to place himself in nearly the exact center of that arena.

His _Air Palm_ strike hadn't been aimed at me, it had been aimed at the launcher _behind_ me, triggering it! With Neji to my front and incoming missiles at my back, he had me pinned, receiving threats from front and back simultaneously. And even if I dodged this time, he could continue the tactic indefinitely. His _Heavenly Spin_ would deflect the barrage almost without thought, but I was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or rather, between Neji's impenetrable bubble, and a hundred mechanical archers.

In other words, it was my perfect opportunity.

I flexed my knees once, and launched myself into the air.

Neji looked up in surprise. He had time for a quick _Air Palm_, before he was forced to return his attention to the _Spin_, to ward off the swarm of incoming kunai. As an indication of his skill, he managed to deflect many of them in my direction.

I flipped in the air, legs over my head. I judged the _Air Palm_ and twisted aside to avoid it. Mid-air combat has always been a specialty of Anything Goes. We learn dodges that some would claim are impossible. I twisted to the side and felt the globe of semi-solid air pass by me. Upside down, I was in the perfect position to intercept the incoming kunai, catching them and flinging them back.

I touched down on the far side, while the launcher was still flinging kunai at Neji.

The tables had just turned. Now he was defending against his trap. He was spinning, defending from every side at once, but he couldn't drop the _Heavenly Spin_ without taking a buckshot cloud of kunai. And the main weakness of all the Hyuga techniques was a pattern that was almost musically precise. I suspect that if Konoha ever formed a band, the Hyuga would all end up as drummers.

And I could exploit _any_ pattern.

The _Heavenly Spin_ created a bubble of pure chakra force, but ki could disrupt chakra, burning it away like a glowing red fireplace poker pierces through a rice-paper wall.

I made a set of quick seals: _horse, tiger, dragon_. I didn't mold chakra. This was pure deception. If people puzzled over how I could make chakra do this, that was fine with me! I formed the deceptive seals and spoke a quick word: "_Amaguriken!_"

Neji spun toward me, fast even to my ki-enhanced eyes. My hands shot forward. I moved fast enough to reach through fire, without being touched by heat. My hands were slick enough to reach through water, without ever getting wet. Now, shielded by a microscopically thin film of ki, they pierced through the chakra veil of the _Heavenly Spin_ without even slowing. As Neji's hands spun down through their pre-set pattern, my fingers flashed out, using ordinary impact applied to vital pressure points: Wrist, inner arm, back of elbow, shoulder. The paralysis sequence was complete, and both of Neji's arms dropped uselessly.

Neji barely had time to scream in pain, as he clenched his eyelids closed. I knew from testing with Hinata that using the _byakugan_ to look at ki created a terrible burning pain in the eyes. I'd used my medical skills to check her, and short-term exposure didn't seem to be harmful, but it was definitely painful. And since the _byakugan_ allowed the user to see in every direction – the entire globe of space around them – using ki anywhere in the vicinity was enough to cripple the Hyuga gift.

At the same time, the bubble of the _Heavenly Spin_ seemed to ignite. Pierced by that film of ki, the chakra and ki alike erupted like so much gasoline.

My hands were saved by two things. First: I had encountered this with Hinata, and learned to compensate. I was pumping extra ki into the _amaguriken_, constantly regenerating my film of ki. Honestly, the corrosive effect of punching through chakra was only a little worse than punching through water, and that's how I had first learned the technique.

Second, I was moving so fast that the heat never had a chance to touch me.

Neji was suddenly dealing with three crises at once. His _Heavenly Spin_ was disintegrating into raw energy, fracturing apart like a shattered bowl, with each fragment disintegrating into a tiny but vicious dust devil. Second, he was temporarily blind and in agony. Third, both is arms had just dropped like dead weight.

I stepped in through the disintegrating glove of the _Heavenly Spin_. Neji didn't even notice. I reached behind him to the back of his neck, and pressed and held the point there. That little pressure point had taken me two months to master, originally, but it was worth it. Neji's body went loose, as he collapsed into unconsciousness.

The _Heavenly Spin_ had almost finished unraveling. I swept Neji into a hold and leapt for the sky, barely avoiding the next wave of kunai. We touched down lightly to the side, out of the line of fire. I spotted the launcher and launched a kunai of my own, hitting the "off" lever. The dammed thing had been _designed_ for remote activation.

I laid Neji's unconscious body down in the sand, then turned to face Hyuga-sama and the elders, assembled in their gallery.

"This is not a loss," I spoke loudly, "this is a victory for the Hyuga Clan!"

I waited for the assembled elders to finish rubbing their eyes. Most had been using the _byakugan_ to watch the fight. After a few moments, they blinked and peered at me, apparently not believing that I had beaten their unbeatable Neji.

"I am a medic-nin," I said, sowing further misdirection. "And I have found a secret. Not a bloodline limit – not yet, not exactly. Call it a hidden technique, like those used by the Inuzuku Clan, or the Nara Clan. " Yeah, I'll admit, my speech was a bit pompous. It's not like I'd gotten a chance for showing off like this, before. "My technique can work directly against the byakugan, as you've just seen. And yet, I say to you, this is a tremendous victory for the Hyuga Clan!"

I paused for effect. "Why? Because the Hyuga Clan is not the only clan to use dojutsu! With the betrayal of Uchiha Itachi, the _sharingan_ is now a tool in the hands of an enemy. Other hidden villages have their own eye techniques. What happens when a Hyuga must face another eye technique? It becomes a long, drawn out battle. Or worse, some of the other techniques require eye contact, but once such contact is made, they can transmit pain or illusions or worse. Suddenly, Konoha's pride, the all-seeing eye, becomes a disadvantage.

"Which is why this defeat is actually an opportunity in disguise."

I held out my right hand, summoning as much physical energy as I could. Enough to waver at the edge of visibility. Unlike a concentration of ki, the energies of chakra are nearly invisible. Meanwhile, I summoned spiritual energy in my left hand.

"I have here two separate and different energies. Spiritual on one hand, physical in the other. You might claim that one energy is enough, that it can eliminate any obstacle. But it is only when we combine them—" I molded the chakra, being careful to keep it outside my body. I created a glowing blue field of healing energy. "—only when they are joined do these energies become something unstoppable, something miraculous."

I waved Hinata forward.

"We've only had a few brief days to begin learning what synergies were possible. But imagine a two-person team, a Hyuga and myself or one of my clan members. Imagine that we were in Earth Country, and we suddenly found ourselves surrounded by enemy dojutsu users."

I beckoned Lee, and he raced around, placing human outlines around the perimeter of the area. They were wooden shuriken targets, borrowed from a genin training field.

"And imagine that the Hyuga clan had allied with my clan, and we had long experience coordinating together. I suspect that Konoha's response would look something like this…"

Hinata and I moved to the center of the field. She began the moves of the _Heavenly Spin_. I used all my speed to hold position, pressed back-to-back with her, spinning as she spun. I found my center and gathered my ki, still inside my body where it would not blind Hinata.

Outside, Lee raced around the perimeter. He began triggering the launchers, firing clouds of weapons toward us – kunai, shuriken, senbon needles, rocks. But as with Neji, the _Heavenly Spin_ was proof against all of these, deflecting everything as Hinata spun and twisted her arms and hands in this dance of defense.

She hadn't been going more than three seconds before she snapped out, "Now!"

That was my cue. For one moment, Hinata knew that the bubble was stable. For that one moment she dropped the _byakugan_ and clenched her eyes shut. And I acted. A hidden weapons pocket opened, and I held three dozen senbon needles. I gathered and shot the tiniest amount of ki – the size of a BB. It flew straight at the target directly in front of me; directly behind Hinata. In its wake followed a dozen senbon – reinforced with ki in the weapons equivalent of the _iron cloth_ technique. I knew they'd pierce just about any chakra shield. It was complete in an instant, and Hinata's eyes flew open again, filling with energy once more. But at the speed I had fired, the needles and ki-pellet had already struck. Anyone in the area using chakra eye techniques had been blinded worse than someone staring at a flashbulb. Anyone but Hinata, who had clenched her eyes shut for the crucial moment.

Seamlessly, without interrupting the spin, she continued to announce at one-second intervals: "Now!" "Now!" "Now!" "Now!" "Now!"

We spun, and at random points around the perimeter, the human targets exploded. Their heads exploded in blinding ki blasts; their hearts were pierced through with senbon needles. (Next time, I vowed, we'd get thicker targets.) Hinata spun down to a stop, a scant twenty seconds later. Outside the crater formed by her technique lay several barrel loads of weapons, scattered haphazardly on the field. The targets had each been demolished, blinded, killed, and exploded. And inside the crater, we were untouched and unharmed.

I raised my arms for attention.

"There are other dojutsu clans! With your all-seeing eyes, the Hyuga Clan is uniquely susceptible to some of them. But together, none of them will ever dare question the supremacy of Konoha, or Konoha's greatest bloodline."

I had learned from Hyuga Hiashi. He'd never actually promised me anything.

"Fight Neji," he'd said, "and we'll continue from there."

"Convince the clan elders," he'd instructed, "and then you'll have the power to negotiate."

He'd never promised, never even implied really, on what we might negotiate or "continue with." But I had just finished giving the best presentation I knew how to give. Neji lay unconscious and unmoving, but also unharmed. Hinata and I had shown how we could work together, and I had given clues on how the Hyuga could use this to achieve supremacy in the realm of eye techniques.

Anyone with half a brain has noticed how every joker with an eye bloodline thinks he's the hottest thing the world has ever seen. I was hoping the Hyuga would leap at the opportunity to overpower the other eye bloodlines.

So I funneled a little extra ki to my ears, hoping for a bit of a hearing boost. Which allowed me to make out the elders' frantic reaction. They were buzzing like hornets!

"Piss in a barrel! The pink-haired girl is right. After this, we'll never have to worry about the Uchiha again!"

"You fool, the Uchiha are dead."

"There's two left!"

"But they're traitors, both of them. No threat to Hyuga."

"What about that Rock Country clan? They gave us enough trouble."

"Yes, and there was that Cloud clan, too."

"What about Neji? How could she hurt Neji?"

"It's because of that traitorous heir that Hiashi's trying to foist on us. I told him she was too weak! Now she's gone and betrayed our secrets to this pink-head."

"Shhh! She's the Hokage's apprentice."

"I don't care if she wipes the Hokage's withered butt! She couldn't do a thing if she hadn't learned the secrets of the _Heavenly Spin!_"

But just then, Hyuga-sama rose and shushed them all.

"Haruno-san, thank you for providing us with a superb demonstration. You have our thanks and gratitude, and have given us much to discuss. If it suits you, the Clan will be officially in contact with you in a few days."

He bowed graciously, and waved the guards forward. Lee had already collected the targets. Now he, Hinata, and I prepared to leave and discuss everything that had happened.

"Hinata," her father called, "you will remain here."

"Y-yes Father." Her stutter was back.

Lee and I looked at her helplessly, but sympathetically. Unfortunately, in the center of the Hyuga compound, surrounded by Hyuga guards, there was nothing we could do. We left Hinata there, alone in her home. We left, and headed for the world outside.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

And that night, a surprise visitor arrived in the dark.

END OF CHAPTER 7

Author's notes:

I've re-edited the earlier chapters, taking out most of the author's notes, so the story will flow better. The current chapter (whatever it is) will contain review responses and many comments, but I'll edit them out as I move forward.

Responding to reviews for chapter 6, I was gratified to see that my false clues about assassins fooled people. (Surely the same trick won't work twice, though.) Hopefully, it's now obvious why there was no build up, clue, or hint on the assassin attack. Sakura got her chest blown up when she (internally) molded chakra. If you look back, she hasn't done a whole lot of chakra molding in this story, and a good thing too! The few times she _did_ mold chakra, it was either before she was glowing with ki, or when she'd trained until she'd exhausted most of her ki.

HolyKnight5 suggested (last chapter) that the unnamed man that Tsunade picked up her reincarnation from (discussed back in chapter 1) was Sagara Sanosuke, from _Rurouni Kenshin_. Now OBSERVER1 wants to see a side story showing that discovery. Unfortunately, I haven't seen enough _Rurouni Kenshin_ to make the character right. Anyone else want to spin this story? Heck, even multiple people (it could have several amusing takes on it). If one or more people want to try this, send me a reference once you have it posted on and I'll post it in this story, so everyone can go over and look.

Next chapter: Hyuga assassins! No, I mean it! This time for sure!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Previously:** It is near the end of the "timeskip", shortly before Naruto Part 2 begins. As the last step of her training under Tsunade, Sakura learned the super-secret reincarnation jutsu. In Tsunade's case, it messed up her life but granted super strength. In Sakura's case she remembered her previous life as someone named "Saotome Ranma." Sakura has now trained herself to use some of Ranma's techniques, but she encountered a problem: ki is not chakra, and gaining ki may have messed up her chakra. Her second problem: a new viewpoint has helped her realize that she's been truly rotten to Naruto. He's not her love, but he was supposed to be her friend. So she's set out to help Hinata and Naruto get together. That requires convincing the Hyuga clan that they should listen to her, which requires either a clan on her side, or some power or offer that can't be ignored. So Sakura used ki and Anything Goes martial arts, and trounced Neji in front of the Hyuga clan elders. Unfortunately, they didn't respond with admiration and respect. They made dire mutterings among themselves and sent her away while they thought about things. Ominously, they kept Hinata behind.

oOoOoOoOo

I still wasn't talking to Mom, even if she had a point. Now that I'd beaten Neji, the way I'd promised to do, I figured I could ask Tsunade-same about what was involved in forming a new clan. Even if I'd finished most of my training, I was still her apprentice. I decided to check in, in the morning.

My room isn't that big, but it's up on the second floor and it has a great view of the monuments. I left the window open for the breeze, and settled in for a well deserved rest. The day has been exhausting, both physically and mentally.

I had just started my favorite dream. Sasuke had trained up, all buff and graceful. I'd found him just after he finished with the last of his foes (which was some dream combination of Itachi and Orochimaru). "I've finished the task assigned to me," Sasuke managed to croak out, coughing up blood. "The Hokage's last wish – is complete. I only wish the cost hadn't been … so high."

"Oh, Sasuke!" I wailed, flinging my body over his. "You can't die!"

"The only thing that could save me now is (cough) pure, undiluted love…"

"Then take mine!" I scream, hugging him for all I was worth.

There are all sorts of variants of this dream. In some I'm giving him regular medical care, in some it's a transfusion of my life force. Speaking as a top medic-nin, I know how to give a chakra donation, but not an infusion of "life force." In any case, the cure always works, and Sasuke is too grateful for words. We quickly fall to kissing… and more racy things.

Soon we were rolling back and forth, while stones and kunai began to impact the ground around us.

"Oh, Sasuke!" I moaned.

We rolled over so that I was on top. A rock landed where our heads had just rested.

"Sasuke, where'd that rock come from?"

"Who cares?" He asked, finally revealing his tender side. "My final mission is to capture _you!_"

His hands began to work their way up me in very interesting ways. On impulse, I rolled back, pulling him up on top.

Another rock landed where we'd been. I ignored it, since he was now on top.

"You have me at your mercy!" I pointed out, beginning to smolder in anticipation.

"Oh, Sakura!" he called, tenderly. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura!"

The rocks were flying in earnest now, a whole bucket load of them. It was getting harder to dodge them, particularly with Sasuke on top of me like that.

"Sakura! SAKURA!"

"Look, do you mind?" In irritation, I grabbed one of the stones and flung it back.

"_SAKURA!_"

Now I was really angry. I sat up, yelling, "Give me a break! I'm trying to sleep—" My crusty eyes recognized my bedroom. "—with someone."

I blinked. Hanging precariously outside my window was Hinata. Also, my bed was full of pebbles. Mostly around my pillow.

"Uh… Hinata? What are you doing outside my window in the middle of the night?"

"Trying to wake you up!" she half whispered, half hissed.

I yawned and scratched my arm pit. "Why didn't you just come in? Window's open."

"I used the _byakugan_," she whispered, "and I spotted the traps you set. Let's see, the low-yield explosive tag next to a vial of who-knows-what…"

I nodded. "Right. Mycotoxic spores. Keeps well, and I've built up an immunity. Good stuff."

"…and there was the alarm seal…"

I stifled another yawn. "Had to learn to set and disable those for the Hokage's medium-secure records."

"…and finally, there were the microwire lacings."

I nodded fuzzily. "We call it 'cheese slicer' in the hospital. Doesn't work as sutures – it cuts right through flesh. Which is good sometimes. Man, wire techniques are great, aren't they?"

"And _that's_ why I didn't come in the open window!" Her hiss sounded a bit irritated for some reason. "So I've been pelting you with pebbles for five minutes, but you kept rolling out of the way, until you finally tossed one back and hit me in the forehead, while you were asleep, and I have nowhere to go, and no place I can sleep, and I'm afraid they're going to find me, and I'm still hanging on to the wall outside your window!"

That woke me up. I quickly moved over to the window and undid my precautions. "I'm sorry, Hinata. Sometimes I don't wake up so quickly." Particularly when I'm in the middle of a good dream.

I helped her in and then re-set the window.

"Why don't you lock your window?"

I rolled my eyes. "_Hinata!_ We're ninja! Like a window latch is really going to stop anyone. Besides, I like the breeze. And I kind of need the overkill, since, like I said, I don't wake up so quickly."

"How'd you dodge the pebbles in your sleep."

"You remember the previous life I told you about? Training. It's all leaking through."

"How do you train someone to dodge pebbles in their sleep?"

"Well," I reminisced, "you have to start with a young child, before their habits are settled. That always seemed to be key on Oyaji's list – young, helpless child. You start with five days of total sleep deprivation. Then you let the subject sleep, but drop pine cones on them. If a pine cone hits, they get woken up, even if you have to use shouting and kicking to wake them. You gradually move up the list, just like you'd expect – pine cones, rocks, big rocks, throwing knives, arrows, starving weasels, rabid wolves. You know, pretty straightforward. I got so that I could sleep through about anything other than breakfast. That or a bucket of cold water."

She stared at me like there was something wrong. "Your _father_ trained you this way? While you were a little kid?"

"Well, yeah, but it was a fundamental art of our school. It was a secret, ancient technique known as _The Snorlax Sleeps Deep_."

"Your father was a loon."

One of my problems was that, as Sakura, I had grown up with a normal life, dealing with people and understanding social interaction. Sure, I was learning to be a killer ninja, but that was totally normal compared to Ranma's life.

"Hmmm, maybe he was a _little_ insane…"

Then I put together some more clues.

"Wait a minute… ancient technique? Snorlax was a Pokémon! How could—? The old man _lied_ to me! Again!"

Hinata gave the demure giggle that was more familiar to me than the irritation I'd seen earlier.

"Sorry," I realized, "you came here for a reason, didn't you?"

She sighed and nodded. "Well, you were just talking about irritating fathers…"

"Something happen? At…" I looked at the clock, "three in the morning?"

She sighed again. This was the Hinata I thought I knew. Sighing, giggling to herself, too shy to speak.

"You have to understand about the clan compound. You guessed a lot of it already."

"All I guessed was about Neji seeing through my clothes."

"Yeah. Well, it's like that in the compound. You grow up knowing that everyone can see everything. Imagine growing up in a house that was really made out of glass, and the only clothes you had were the thinnest, most transparent gauze. And you could see everything that everyone did everywhere – in the bathroom, and the bedroom, and _everywhere_."

I gulped. "Whoa – I see what you mean! It must have been terrible!"

She shrugged. "I guess. It actually seems pretty normal to me. I think everyone else in the world is nuts. Some of us, Hyuga I mean, have a hard time figuring out things like modesty and privacy. And it tends to upset people if you drop your clothes in public, or just casually tell them why they were so constipated a few minutes ago, and what they should eat instead."

"Yeah… I can see – I mean _understand_ – that."

"And it's just as bad with privacy and conversations, since everyone can overhear you."

That confused me. "What do you mean? There's no such thing as Hyuga _ears_."

She gave me a bland look that seemed to question my intelligence. "I learned to lip read before I was four, and I was about average. Hanabi learned by age three."

It was too dark outside for my brain to be able to figure out all the implications of that. "So, you see everything, hear every conversation, and, uh…"

She nodded, apparently thinking I understood. "Exactly. So if someone wants to have a private conversation, they either have to go far outside the compound, or they have to do it in the middle of the night, when most everyone is asleep."

"Like… at three AM," I finally figured out.

"Right. Only, I was expecting that, so I watched."

"You spied on your clan elders, while they discussed the demonstration we gave?"

Hinata blinked as if she was missing the point. "I'm a _Hyuga_."

"Right. Of course. Well? What did they say?"

"It turns out, they weren't so concerned about you beating Neji. That was just sort of the admission price to get anyone to pay attention to you." She finally pulled out the chair at my small desk and sat down. I was already sitting on my bed.

"Okay. So tell me already!"

"Some thought that we had to own your technique, but the only way to control it was to adopt you into the clan – by force, if necessary. They'd give you the _Caged Bird_ seal, and everything would be fine."

I gulped. "Doesn't the _Caged Bird_ sort of make you … a slave to anyone from the main branch?"

"Uh huh. A couple of elders didn't think that went far enough. They wanted to seal me, too, for showing you any of the _Heavenly Spin_ moves. Then there would be no problem making Hanabi the heir."

I realized that she was trembling as she revealed all of this.

"Meanwhile, there was another elder who thought you could be dangerous, if angered. He wanted to help you create a companion clan, just as you'd suggested. But two more elders jumped on that. They decided that it would be best if it _looked_ like we were allowing a companion clan, but that Hyuga should have agents inside from the beginning. That way, Hyuga would control the old clan, as always, but also control a new clan. In addition to double votes in council, they'd have a puppet clan they could use for all sorts of useful manipulations of other Konoha factions – stuff they'd never dare to try with the main clan."

I waited, breathless.

"The arguments went on for a while, before finally it came down to the question of whether you could really beat Neji or not. If you could, particularly after only a week of familiarization with our style, it argued that you might be too powerful and dangerous to be controlled, and no advantage was worth the risk. The argument had come down to 'puppet clan' vs. 'too dangerous'. That's when Father spoke to me."

I boggled. "Didn't you say he was in the council meeting?"

"He was. But we can talk to each other. The main line family, at least. I'm not sure if the branch has figured out this trick."

She held her hand in a fairly normal position, but two fingers were folded in against the thumb.

"This means, 'Father.' At least, that's the signal for my generation. Whenever my hands are in this shape, when I am speaking, it is said directly to Father. Remember that he doesn't have to look in my direction, and I can be behind walls, and under the cover of my blankets.

"So with his hands virtually shouting 'Hinata', he moved his lips in a silent whisper and asked me, 'Awake?' And I answered, 'Yes.' And he told me to leave, right that moment. He wanted two weeks to work on things, but he wanted me safe and out of the way for those two weeks, until things settle down."

She sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "And so… I'm here. Where else can I go at three AM?"

By that point, my eyes were goggling and my mouth gaping like a fish out of water. "I—I—I had no idea that your clan – the politics – I mean, we hear about spying and espionage in the academy but this—"

Hinata nodded. "The Hyuga have no masters in espionage. Just as the Uchiha had no masters at combat. For them to see a technique is to make it their own. For us, to be within range of the _byakugan_, it to know, to see, to eavesdrop, to spot secrets. We don't even need to be facing in the proper direction."

"But…" I began to get scared. "Surely these are high clan secrets! Can you tell me? Have they been watching us? Am I going to get killed for knowing this?"

Hinata activated her eyes for just a moment, shifting her head minutely. "No Hyuga is within range. As for the secrets – most Konoha jonin have figured it out. You're the Hokage's apprentice. Besides, you've already worked with me learning some of the patterns to the _Heavenly Spin_. Already I have taught and you have learned enough to mark us both for death, in the eyes of some elders. And lastly…"

She closed her terrible eyes and last, facing down at her clenched hands.

"Yes?"

"You gave me hope. If there is any chance of us forming a clan together, I want you to know the truth about me."

"The same way I told you about my past life," I realized.

"Exactly."

I stood up and went to hug her. Despite the brave front, she was trembling like she had the world's worst case of the pneumonia.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her and stroking her head.

"It'll be okay. Stay here for the night. Tomorrow I'll see Tsunade-sama and get some assignment from her that will keep us out of the village for a couple of weeks. Do you trust your father?"

"I don't know!"

"Well, I guess this is the sort of thing we need to expect, when we poke into clan politics. But you've got the _byakugan_, and some really amazing strength. I've got more than a few surprises, and some friends in really high places. We'll get through this. Okay?"

She tentatively put her arms around me. "Okay."

I went to my dresser. "Here's a clean nightgown. You can squeeze into bed with me tonight."

"Together?"

"You ever share your bed with a sister?"

That brought such a wistful look to her face. "Not since a long, long time ago."

"Well, it'll be like that again. I think. I never had any sisters."

"Okay," she agreed again.

I could tell that her story about lack of privacy was the truth. For such an incredibly shy girl, she didn't any hesitation in peeling out of her clothes. I handed her the nightgown, which fit reasonably well. Despite the fact that she was two or three sizes larger than me, up top. And her hips were wider. _And_ her waist was narrower. And while I wasn't nearly so self-conscious about my forehead these days, I knew she had a cuter face than mine.

Life just isn't fair, is it?

I was reminded of myself in girl form, trying on Akane's clothes in a previous life. "The bust and hips are too tight," I'd said, "and the waist is too loose." Then Akane had clobbered me with a mallet. Looking at Hinata in my nightgown, for the first time in my life I understood Akane.

At least I still had pink hair. Some people found that attractive.

Hey, you take what you can get.

I snuggled into bed with Hinata, pulling the covers up over both of us. It wasn't really wide enough, so we ended up spooning, her in front.

I whispered in her ear, "Hinata, this feels oddly nice. You know, I _do_ want to make a clan with you. And I _do_ like snuggling with you. But – no offense – as I fall asleep, I'm going to pretend that you're a boy."

She gave the merest hint of a giggle. I wasn't sure, but I thought, as we drifted to sleep that I heard her whisper a single word.

"Naruto…"

oOoOoOoOo

Sasuke was kissing me, but the dream turned into a nightmare. He had bad breath!

"Sasuke! Ew, brush your teeth!"

He looked sullen. "I have Uchiha mouth. All Uchiha smell like this."

"Tell me you're joking," I begged. "You smell like methyl trichloride!"

He grabbed me and pulled me close. "Kiss me!" he ordered.

And that's when my Ranma side came forward. "Kiss a guy? No way!"

But Sasuke wouldn't take no for an answer. He pressed won on me, crushing his lips over mine until I couldn't breathe and I was gasping, choking, gagging…

All at once I was awake, struggling against the fume-soaked pillow pressed over me. I reached out, grabbing the hairy arms that pressed that pillow down. Some man was suffocating me! I grabbed his wrists, but I couldn't get any leverage, and my head was already reeling. All I could do was to shove him away, as hard as I could.

Arms and pillow both flew away, ending with a crash in the ceiling above me. Bits of plaster rained down on me. There was a man shoved into my ceiling! Up to about the mid-chest, if I was any judge of it. Another figure looked down at me in surprise, his glossy white ceramic mask painted like a sheep. He was pressing a pillow into the bed next to me.

It took a moment to figure that out. My brain was still fuzzy.

"Hinata!"

I grabbed the guy by the arm and yanked him sideways, as desperately as I could.

He screamed, and went flying out my window. The window shattered, and some chunks were taken out of the wall, too, where the guy's head and foot had exceeded the dimensions of the window frame.

"What the hell?" I asked, groggily.

I pulled the pillow off of Hinata, who began gasping in heaving lungfulls of breath.

The hair on the back of my neck went ZING! and I spun in time to see a quartet of kunai flying in to impale me in the back. _Good old Danger Sense!_ Faster than I could think to act, I caught them.

I spotted the guy, sticking to the exterior wall of our house and peeking in around the corner. He had a spider mask. But it was the watcher on the opposite building that really upset me. He was in an octopus mask. It wasn't the mask, it was, "Four ANBU? They sent four ANBU after us? What's the matter with you people? Can't a girl get some sleep?"

And I sent the kunai back at them, hard.

Only, I was still groggy from whatever it was in the pillow. I didn't miss my targets, but I forgot to adjust the strength of my throw. Even for the guy across the street, I hit him in the chest. Only… the kunai didn't lodge in his chest. Both erupted out the back of his body, hitting the brick chimney behind him. Which was shattered. The kunai finally lodged (sunk to the ring) in a wall on the next street over.

"Oops."

Damn, four ANBU, and it was only… 4:30 AM?

I almost didn't regret killing those idiots. Interrupting my beauty sleep!

"Come on, Hinata, time to skip town."

She was still having trouble breathing, and my medical training belatedly kicked in. Being careful to mold the physical and spiritual energies _outside_ my body, I cast the healing jutsu, drawing the poison back through the tissue of her lungs.

"Yecccch. It _is_ methyl trichloride. No one's used that junk in a couple generations. What were they thinking of?"

Now that Hinata was breathing normally again, I turned it around and pulled the gunk out of my lungs, too.

"What happened?" the lavender-eyed girl demanded.

"Either one of your council friends jumped the gun, or they've come to an agreement earlier than we thought. That was an assassination squad – four ANBU."

"What?!"

I looked at the guy smushed into my ceiling. The blood was starting to drip onto my bed.

"I sort of accidentally took care of three of them." I peered out the window, spotting both splatters on the road below. "No, make it all four. A clean sweep. That gives us a couple extra minutes of head start."

I looked over at Hinata. She was on her side, levered up on one arm, but still reluctant to move forward through the increasing trickle of blood.

"Oh, hell," I said.

"What?" She was newly alarmed.

"I wish I looked even half that good. And it's my nightgown, too."

The too-tight outfit did nothing to diminish Hinata's charms. That goofball Naruto was a luckier boy than he knew. But just let Sasuke's eyes stray…

_Hiss! The bitch is dead meat! She better stay away from my Sasuke-kun!_

Well, fortunately Hinata didn't possess a telepathy jutsu.

"Come on," I urged, pulling the blankets back. "Time to dress. It'll be a couple of hours before the Hokage gets in, but since I'm her apprentice, we can wait in her tower. Even ANBU wouldn't dare stage a hit there."

oOoOoOoOo

"Assassins?" Tsunade demanded.

"Hyuga assassins," Hinata clarified. With an apologetic look to me, she explained, "I looked through their masks. They all had the caged bird seal, and in death, it destroyed their eyes."

I gulped.

Tsunade, on the other hand, gave a mild chuckle. "You though ninja work was difficult? Hell, politics is cutthroat in a _normal_ city. In a hidden village where half the schemers have their own teams of private assassins? What did you expect?"

She couldn't be saying what I thought she was saying. "But… I read the news! I listen to the rumors! I've never heard—"

"Of course not!" Tsunade slammed her hands on her desk. "You think shinobi politicians are amateurs? The first hokage had a problem with his original council. They were deadlocked over issues that were absolutely stupid, and because of that, he couldn't finish building the new hidden village. All the problems vanished when about half the council suddenly came down with Seki's Sickness, and tragically died."

I nodded. "I remember studying that. It's a good thing it's not very contagious…" My eyes opened wide. "You aren't saying—! The first Hokage—?"

Looking at Hinata, the Hokage said, "If you really want to form a new clan, you're going to have to eliminate that naïve streak she has, and fast. There's a reason the Hokage has a constant ANBU guard, and there's a reason I can't just eliminate the council when they get in my way."

She rose to move to one of her cabinets where she sorted through scrolls. She set aside several and presented them to Hinata.

"Here are some histories of early clans. Study up on them. They're instructive."

Hinata unrolled the originals, grabbed some blank scrolls, and used a quick _scroll copy_ jutsu. Ever since I was a student, I've loved watching the way the most intricate writing and seals get duplicated on the copied scroll.

Meanwhile, Tsunade-sama turned to me and noted, "Obviously, Hinata's going to have to be your strategist. You can be both muscle and medic. How are you doing in chakra control these days?"

I grimaced. "I'm still a bit messed up. I can do simple healing jutsus. I have no problem with a chakra scalpel. I drew out poison, an hour ago. But the more complex jutsus… still need some work."

My teacher nodded decisively. "Take the time. I want you back to full mastery before you return to the village."

Hinata and I stared at each other. _Return_ to the village?

She handed us each a small stack of bills. "Here's enough _ryo_ for you to pick up supplies – don't stop in town, get them on the road. Hinata, you have study assignments; so do you, Sakura. Your leader already has the mission briefing. If you treat her nice, maybe she'll help you train, or even teach you some new jutsus."

We blinked, as Tsunade pulled the signal cord hanging behind her desk.

"Mission…?" Hinata ventured, tentatively.

Just then, the office door was smashed open.

"I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I'm ready to go!"

END of CHAPTER 8 and ARC 1

oOoOoOoOo

Author's notes:

And thus ends ARC ONE. Yeah, I know, there are major unresolved issues (the whole clan thing, details of what exactly ki is, and how it relates to chakra). However, the new Sakura is now solidly established and has pretty well merged with her Ranma memories and abilities.

ARC TWO will let her shine for a bit and give us a chance at some adventure. The story will be a bit lighter (three girls on a mission). Maybe, with luck, there will be some character development between Sakura and Hinata. A few other secrets may be learned.

Next chapter: Akno reveals a threat to all Konoha ninja!


	9. Chapter 9 ARC 2: Chaos and KickButt

****

**ARC 2: Chaos and Kick-Butt**

Chapter 9

**Previously:** It is near the end of the "timeskip", shortly before Naruto Part 2 begins. As the last step of her training under Tsunade, Sakura learned a super-secret reincarnation jutsu and remembered her previous life as someone named "Saotome Ranma." But while retraining to use Ranma's skills she learned that ki is not chakra. The two energies seem to interfere with one another – violently. Also, perhaps frustrated by her own love life problems with Sasuke, she attempted to solve other problems by connecting up Naruto and Hinata. That resulted in the Hyuga clan elders sending an assassination squad to kill her in her bed. So she's letting things cool down with a mission away from Konoha. Sakura, Hinata, and Anko have left town, but the younger girls are still waiting for Anko to give them their full briefing.

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"You're telling me, you used to be a dude?" Anko howled in laughter, almost falling into the campfire.

"It's not _that_ funny," I grumbled.

Honestly, I hadn't even meant to tell her the story, but I needed to train up. Between doing my kata and practicing chakra manipulation, she knew _something_ was going on. And with the way chakra kept exploding in my hands, there'd been a lot of questions. So I finally just swore her to secrecy and told her.

"What's so strange about me being a guy?" I demanded.

"Oh, I don't know. The skinny girl arms? The utter lack of strength? The way your butt moves when you walk. The way you're always mooning over that Uchiha boy. Maybe it's the _pink hair!_"

"For your information," I huffed, "pink is my natural color! And my arms might be a little skinny, but I'm not weak!"

I snatched up a rock from the ground.

"What are you doing now, girly-girl?" Anko asked in amusement.

"I think she's squeezing," Hinata offered, moving back slightly.

"Sure," Anko agreed in amusement. "That's how I take out my frustrations—" The rock exploded into powder. "—too."

"_Not_ weak," I repeated, dusting my hands off. "And for your information, I don't 'moon' over Sasuke-kun. I'm just concerned about him."

Anko was still staring at my hand. I reached over and gently pushed her jaw up, closing her mouth.

"Oh, wait," she realized. "You used chakra. I've heard of that trick. A guy thing, right? Not that useful except for intimidation as for one-upmanship."

"No chakra, pure strength," I asserted.

She stared at me in disbelief. "Arm wrestle. Now!"

A moment later, as she was prying her arm out of the ground and rubbing her bicep, she mused, "_Nobody_ can crush rocks in their hands. It's not possible! Even the most insane work-out, worse, even Gai wouldn't dream of squeezing rocks…" She blinked lids over glazed eyes once more. "Does this strength apply to _everything_ you do?"

"We were attacked by ninjas last night," Hinata revealed. "ANBU assassins. She threw their kunai back at them."

"Yeah?"

"The kunai went _through_ them. All the way."

"I really need to retrain," I admitted.

Then Hinata's eyes took on a fanatic gleam. "You've seen her training dances?"

"They're called _kata_," I corrected.

"You should have seen her take apart Neji!"

"He was holding back," I decided. "He misjudged how quickly I'd pick up the pace."

Anko's eye's narrowed and she got a smile that rather reminded me of how snakes smile. Well, how snakes would smile, if they could. In other words, creepy.

"So…" she summarized. "You've got pink hair, skinny little girl arms, absurd strength, and you remember being a guy. And now you're messed up, upstairs." She tapped her temple, to provide an emphasis that I did _not_ need.

"Yeah," I agreed. "What's your point?"

She gave me a huge smile, which was even more creepy than her snake-smile. "I know how to solve all your problems!"

Uh oh.

"You need to get laid!"

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We probably could have made the trip in a fraction of the time it took us, but Anko was taking a modest pace. Maybe she wanted to get to know us before the mission. That didn't extend to the sleeping arrangements, though.

Anko strictly kept to her own tent, even though it was plenty big enough for two.

I had a two-person tent that I shared with Hinata. Between _hidden weapons_ and modern chakra-powered camping gear, I was traveling in style. I remembered crossing China with little more than a ratty wool blanket!

So I should have been in a deep sleep, snuggled inside my warm bag, protected from the rocks and cold ground by a magnificent air mattress. Instead, my eyes snapped open.

Something was happening in the tent! Last time I'd woken like this, it was to discover ANBU assassins!

Not making a single move, not tensing a single muscle, not opening or twitching an eyelid, I focused my senses, probing, detecting, feeling for the disturbance that had awakened me!

There was a giggle.

"No, Naruto, it's just that your hands are so _large!_" Another giggle. "Alright. If you want, I'll show you."

Great. Hinata talked in her sleep.

"It's just the two of us on this mission. And I've already shown you _my_ equipment, so…"

It was a dream about training! That was reasonable. It must be very common for shinobi to have training dreams.

"Oh my! Don't worry, I _like_ red fur!"

I decided I didn't want to know. I rolled over, and pulled my pillow over my head, trying to drown out the sound.

"Training is important, isn't it?"

I let out a sigh of relief. Anything inappropriate had just been my own perverted imagination.

"…never done endurance training like this." She gave a gasp. "Oh MY!"

Then she began to make quiet little sounds. Squeaks and whimpers, mostly. I sighed. Maybe it hadn't been my imagination.

"Oh…oh…OH…NARUTO!"

Definitely a moaner. At least now I could go to sleep.

"What, again? Okay!"

Or not. It was going to be a long night.

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Breakfast was quiet. I glared at Anko, for planting suggestions in the mind of people who are too susceptible for their own good. I glared at Hinata, just because she was in such a perky mood.

The other girls cooked and cleaned up, while I packed equipment and stashed it away.

After erasing all traces of our camp, we sped deeper into the forest.

This was definitely not Ranma's world. The forest around Konoha stretched out for endless days, untouched and unoccupied by man. And, as with the Forest of Death, there were things that moved through those untamed wilds. Humans didn't live alone out here, not unless they were as powerful as chunin.

"What's our destination?" I called, as the three of us moved smoothly from branch to branch.

Shinobi tree travel was as fast as roof hopping. Actually, it was probably a touch faster. In a previous life, back in Japan, that hadn't been so important. Roof hopping let you avoid traffic and you could skip paying bus fare. In this world, though, it made shinobi the controlling glue that held a nation together. Nearly all travel was by foot, on simple roads created for pedestrians and carts. There were oxen, but no horses, and nothing like cars or planes. So travel, warfare and invasion, all traveled at foot speed. So did ninja, for that matter, but our "foot speed" was through the air, and a half-dozen times faster than a normal running man.

And there were a few jutsu that allowed even faster travel. The Fourth Hokage had been famous for that.

Fast long-distance communication was by bird. Between my Ranma memories and my Sakura knowledge, I realized that there were major gaps I didn't understand. We had radios. We had TV. But everything was purely local. The TV was a village channel, and radios were both expensive and short-range. Which was why the communication between villages was either by speedy ninja, like ourselves, or by bird. Or by regular merchants passing back and forth, trading gossip and rumors the same way they had done back in the time of the first samurai.

Bird-messages weren't so bad. It wasn't like a teeny rice-grain piece of paper on a pigeon leg. I'd seen that once in a movie. No, we used trained falcons that traveled between Konoha and other vital destinations – the capital, the border, other hidden villages. Since each falcon could carry a scroll, if you wanted to you could move people and equipment at the speed of flight by sending a storage scroll or summoning scroll. But you couldn't move an army.

Since most travel was limited to foot speed, it meant that shinobi reinforcements could reach any spot in the country faster than normal troops could march there. The Daimyo was the political leader, but the Hokage was a sort of prefectural shogun. Capturing the Daimyo gained you little. It was like kidnapping or assassinating a prime minister. There was panic and grief and new elections and the system quickly moved on.

On the other hand, taking the Hokage and his castle or village – that won the war. Even better, the civilians, the people in the open and public cities, they might never see that war. Orochimaru's invasion, two years ago, had been devastating for Konohagakure no Sato but it hadn't had a noticeable impact on the Land of Fire.

This was so very different from my old world, where two civilian cities had been obliterated as a tactic of war.

As I was to discover, this cultural difference was important to the layout of our destination.

"Where are we heading?" I asked again.

Anko turned her head to answer back without shouting. "Yurihonjo," she answered. "The capital. Once you see it, you'll understand why Konoha's nothing more than a village. The capital is two entire cities. Three, really. Yuzuki Castle, in the center, is a small town to itself. Don't hold your breath, girls, 'cause we're not getting anywhere near the castle. There's 'Inner Yurihonjo', which is the walled city immediately surrounding the castle. We'll spend a lot of time there, though the lodging's too high for our expense account. That's where the lords and noble clans live, and the businesses catering to them. And then there's the spillover, 'Outer Yurihonjo' or the outer city, which is probably four times as big as the inner city. We'll flop there, and move into the inner city during the day, like most everyone else."

Hinata leapt forward, asking, "They built outside the walls? Were they insane? Who would live there?"

"This isn't like Konoha," Anko explained, with a tone of fierce pride. "_We're_ a military facility. I know, every time something serious goes down, it's like there's a handful of shinobi and about a zillion panicky civilians running around like terrified sheep. Even so, those are _our_ sheep. Each and every one of 'em chose to work and live in a hidden village, knowing the full risks and dangers. And we need 'em. Someone's got to make the soldier pills, and craft the kunai and shuriken, and tailor our outfits with all the subtle armor and hidden pockets.

"Konoha suffers a major attack every decade or two, at least. The civilians know what they're in for. Add the forest to that – it comes right up to the village wall. And the fact that we're deep inside the forest, and that we restrict hunting within a day's travel of the village. That means you can't go out of the gate without worrying about wildlife and predators. You're both chunin, so Konoha probably seems wide open to you. But imagine a normal civilian, trapped behind walls, knowing that sooner or later someone's going to attack, and that even taking the road out of town means you'll have to face wolves or bears or who-knows-what!"

"I'm not sure I'm quite following you," Hinata admitted.

"Well, look!" Anko hollered. "I'm just talking about the rabble in the street. And I'm saying that both of you grew up in Konoha. You're warped! Even the 'normal' civilians from Konoha are warped. They're used to people racing across the roofs, and ninja-pranks like your orange-clad buddy used to pull. They're used to monsters outside the wall, and even the likelihood that they'll suffer an invasion or three during their lifetime. By outside standards, our civilians are pretty warped.

"But in the capital… there are no ninja appearing on the roofs. Everything is under the covers. There's no invasions, no monsters in the woods. Outside the city walls is more city! And outside that are farms. It's like a big, juicy target, with only one thing protecting it."

"Konoha," I guessed.

"Damn straight," Anko agreed, with a decisive nod. "In a straight shot, a chunin team can make the run in just under a day. There's always at least three ANBU squads patrolling the capital, and four more on call for scroll-summoning to the capital." She lowered her voice and continued with a tone of slight derision. "Of course, they also got a few hundred samurai hanging around. I figure that's just a delaying tactic."

"So we'll be ninja on patrol or something?" I guessed. "Is that our mission?"

Anko made a rude noise. "You want me to tell you here, in an insecure area? Not a chance. I will tell you this, though. It's not a regular mission – we'll have cover identities. I'll tell you more when we stop for lunch. Until then, try to come up with a good cover."

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Anko wouldn't allow a fire for lunch.

"The capital is only an hour west," she said quietly. "We're going to circle past, and come in on the east road, like ordinary travelers arriving from Wave Country. We'll hit Daisen and pick up any supplies, then shift to our cover identities and pretend to be coming in from Wave."

I nodded. My first big mission had been to Wave Country. I even knew some of the people there.

"So we'll have a cold camp?" Hinata asked.

It was just a lunch break. That's normally cold.

"Are you really sure you guys are chunin?" Anko demanded, forcing herself to keep the volume down.

I'd whipped up some lunch preparations, pulling things out using the _hidden weapons_ technique. I was trying to make it look like I was pulling them out of a storage scroll, while Anko and Hinata watched for flaws. I pulled out a short table, and laid out some cheap dishes and chopsticks.

"I hate to say I picked up anything from Naruto's eating habits," I admitted, "but he had to have his ramen at least once a day. And… assuming you've got a storage scroll to cart it along, cup noodles or something like it is quick and hot, and the carbohydrates are pretty easy to digest. Unfortunately, you need hot water for it."

"I said no fire," Anko corrected. "I didn't say we couldn't have hot water."

She grabbed the teakettle off my table and handed it to Hinata. "Let's see if you learned the _trickle_ jutsu I taught you last night."

Hinata lifted the lid off the teapot and made a series of hand seals, as she executed one of the jutsu Anko had demonstrated. The jutsu was ten signs long, and as it activated a tiny gray raincloud formed above the kettle, just five centimeters wide. The miniature cloud began dripping into the teapot.

"_Trickle_ is one of the Traveling Ten," Anko explained. "They're a collection of ten jutsu that are really handy for anyone camping or traveling cross-country. Each takes exactly ten hand seals. They're hard to muff up and don't take much chakra, so you'll find quite a few non-shinobi who use them, too. Which is part of the reason I'm surprised that they didn't teach you these in the academy."

Hinata and I could only shrug.

"The ten include two jutsu for each element, so depending on your affinity, you may not be able to master all of them. _Trickle_ is the first of the water jutsu – condensing water from the air."

"It seems like a lifesaver," I said, "particular in the desert or someplace without water."

"It works a lot slower in the desert," Anko warned. "Less moisture in the air. But I was moving on to others in the Traveling Ten. We're the land of fire, so I assume the academy at least taught you _Match Finger?"_

Hinata and I both nodded.

"Oh!" I realized. "It's ten seals long, isn't it? It's one of the Traveling Ten!"

"Right," Anko confirmed. "At the very least, I'd expect everyone from Fire Country to know both fire jutsu. The pattern with the Traveling Ten is that the first elemental jutsu is easy and useful, while the second is a bit trickier, and _extremely_ useful."

"So…?" Hinata prompted.

"Do you know _Hot Rock?_"

I looked at Hinata; she looked at me. We both shrugged.

"Okay," Anko said. "Step one, find a rock."

She searched the ground for a minute, before picking up a rounded river stone that was a smooth oval perhaps three centimeters long. She poured some cold water out of the now-full tea kettle, and cleaned the stone off.

"Now watch closely – here come the seals."

Her hands flicked through a sequence of ten seals.

"I'm missing something here," I admitted. "Why is this so useful?"

Anko finished the seals and held the rock, staring at it. In seconds, the remaining water that covered it evaporated into steam. Then she dropped it into the teapot.

"Get it?" she asked. "No fire, no smoke, no smell. But we've got hot water. The stone gets hotter, depending on how much chakra you pump in. A ring of hot rocks makes a fine grill, or a natural stove to heat your pot or skillet. You can place warm stones inside your bedding to warm it up. They hold the heat for a long time, so several larger rocks around a campsite will really warm it up. You can melt snow, or carry a hand warmer, or melt fishing holes in ice. It has almost every advantage of fire, but without the smoke or flame, and you can create heat anywhere you can find a stone."

Hinata blinked. "That is more useful than _match finger_."

Anko grinned. "Believe me, if you've got a long, cold stakeout, _Hot Rock_ is your friend!"

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"The last step in our disguises," Anko revealed, "is to hide those way-too-obvious Hyuga eyes."

"What's wrong with my eyes?" Hinata demanded.

"Apparently nothing," Anko answered, honestly. "Perfect vision even when you get to be an old geezer, strange powers and jutsu. You Hyuga are so lucky! Most of the dojutsu users slowly burn out their eyes as they use their powers. I heard that even the mighty sharingan does that. At top power, it throws some sort of unbeatable genjutsu. But each use wrecks your eyesight a little. And there's a technique over in Cloud that leads to cataracts. But as far as I can tell, Hyuga eyes just stay sharp forever."

Hinata said nothing, but she gave a slight nodding, while wearing that shy Hinata smile.

"On the other hand, Hyuga eyes are also about the most famous and noticeable in the Elemental Countries. Your chances of walking around anonymously are just about zip. So you're gonna disguise 'em."

"How?"

Our top-heavy leader gave a put-upon sigh. "I can't believe they let any of you kids out of the compound without teaching you a couple of _dogenjutsu_."

"Illusionary pupil techniques?" Hinata wondered.

"Honestly! Most other ninja just use it to change their eye color. But it'll be more useful to you. Hinata, we're going to give you completely ordinary brown eyes."

"But I like my eyes…"

"Uh huh. So does everyone else on the continent. Okay, here are the seals…"

While they did that, I decided to practice my own disguise. I already had the makings for a perfect disguise. My figure was nothing special, and my face was fairly plain. I really only have two good physical features – my hair and my eyes. If I toned my hair down to a simple light brown, I should be completely non-descript except for a pair of startlingly green eyes. And I thought I could use that to my advantage.

So while Anko taught Hinata how to apply magical contact lenses, I stepped behind a tree and retrieved a few grooming items from my hidden weapons space.

I have to say, the Amazons from Ranma's day provided more than their share of irritation, but they knew personal grooming like nobody's business. In fact, they'd created several martial arts techniques based upon them. (Part of the reason there were so few Amazon men was due to a school of unbelievably lethal beard techniques, but that's a story for another day.) In any case, I was able to use the _quick change_ technique to dress in a plain but nice modern-cut kimono (a blue-gray fabric with a lighter blue print of a rain droplets). Then I gave myself a full shampoo and dye job. I'd learned the _Hissatsu Shiatsuken_ from Shampoo – it specialized in grooming and massage attacks. Finally, I applied my makeup. Again I used the Amazon arts (I'd had to fight off a makeup challenger once, to save Shampoo from being forced to wear the legendary Tammy Faye eye shadow.)

The entire process, dress, style, makeup, took over ten seconds, but then again, I hadn't practiced in who knows how many thousand years.

I rounded the large tree and walked back to our campsite, deliberately changing my movements and body language to match a girl who was much shyer and less confident of herself.

"Oh my God!" I only remembered at the last second not to shout.

"Shhh!" Anko admonished. "We're – What the hell? Sakura? Nice genjutsu!"

"Hinata – you've got _eyes!_"

"I've always had eyes," she grumbled. "Sakura? You look so…plain."

I gave a depressed sigh, which was perfectly in character for the girl I was trying to play. "Yeah. Actually, without the whole pink hair thing, I'm really pretty plain."

"Wait a minute," Anko ordered. "Why can't I see through your genjutsu?"

Hinata concentrated, and something happened at her temples. I peered at her, knowing she was using the _byakugan_, but the genjutsu covered it. I made a quick hand seal and muttered, "_Release!_" under my breath, breaking out of her genjutsu.

And suddenly, Hinata was normal again, with those creepy bulging eye veins and everything. I gave a sigh of relief.

"It's _not_ genjutsu, is it?" Hinata demanded. "I can't see any chakra, aside from just now when you countered _my_ genjutsu."

"That's right." I nodded, happily.

"But…" Anko was confused. "You were only out of sight for a couple of seconds."

"Some special techniques I learned in a previous life," I reminded her.

"But…"

I smirked. "Heck, if I used the _Xi Fa Xiang Gao_, I could give you a shampoo, brainwash, and blow-dry in under six seconds!"

"Uh…" Hinata noted, "I'm not sure that 'brainwashing' means what you think it does."

"Try me," I challenged. "It's a special technique for cleaning hair and removing memories, all at the same time."

Anko was looking appropriately weirded out. "I… suppose that would be useful, for torturing prisoners who need to look their best."

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Before we finished our lunch break, I changed back to my normal look (I'd had to re-create the Amazon herbal dyes myself, but they could be rapidly applied and stripped without damaging the hair). Hinata used her sight to scan for eavesdroppers, while Anko also checked. Then she finally gave us the mission briefing.

First she pulled out a small scroll.

"Do you carry blank scrolls with you?"

Hinata and I both nodded.

"Do you know the _scroll copy_ jutsu?"

"Of course!"

"What a lot of people don't know," Anko explained, "is that _scroll copy_ leaves a trace. Once you get the original back, there's a… taint. More like a scent, only in chakra terms. You can tell that someone has copied it. That 'scent' is the same for everything that person does, so if I were to look at any of your student scrolls, they'd have a 'smell' that would be the same as the 'smell' on the copied original. Follow me, so far?"

We nodded, dutifully. I was starting to get a bad feeling.

Anko tossed the scroll and a second to Hinata. "The brown scroll was written by Shizune only. Same with the red one. They should both have her 'scent' on them. Feel it out, see if you can detect the second 'scent' on the red scroll."

While Hinata was concentrating, Anko pulled out something that was either a huge toothpick or a small dango skewer, and began picking her teeth.

"Okay, let's talk politics and reality. What do you know about the relationship between the Daimyo and the Hokage?"

"More than I want," I grumbled.

Anko grinned. "Okay, apprentice-girl, let's hear the highlights."

"Well," I took a second to organize my thinking. "We're deliberately separated. We have several rules in the Shinobi Code dealing with the Daimyo and his family. We're to protect them, never harm them, and there's even a loophole-plugging rule about not being able to stand back and allow them to be harmed through negligence or inaction. But at the same time, we don't actually have to take orders from them. We take orders from our superiors or the Hokage. The Daimyo can order the Hokage and provide missions, but can't directly give orders to any shinobi.

"At least, that's the theory. I know that if the Hokage objects to an order, she has the option to resign. She's threatened to do that often enough. Also, I know that in the real world, things aren't quite so compartmentalized at they're made to sound. The Daimyo still handles our budget. Some assignments come straight to the hidden village, but lots of others go through the Daimyo and the capital. And the Daimyo is always scrutinizing details of equipment expenditures and the like, and approving them or (usually) asking all sorts of stupid questions like, 'Why do you throw away so many kunai?' So, is that what you were asking about, Anko-san?"

"Yeah." She spit out the skewer, caught it in one hand, and began twirling it around her fingers in a dexterity exercise. "It's all part of a big political theory called 'Separation of Powers.' The Daimyo _does_ have a force under his direct command, his samurai. They were originally supposed to be the country's main defense. They still serve as police, and a major part of our defense, just not as big a part as the hidden village. But they're the part that most people usually see. Well, except for us weirdoes who live in Konoha, were we have no samurai. Anyway, these samurai are under the direct control of the Daimyo, but in the past there have been all sorts of issues with corruption and ideology and even religion messing things up. So the Fire Country was created with 'Separation of Powers.' The shinobi are an unconnected branch, completely separated from the capital, from politics, from the clans and pressures and duties and orders that might mess up the samurai. The idea is that if one force is having trouble, the other force is there to take up the slack."

"Yes," Hinata agreed politely, "I've heard all of this from my father, and others in the clan. But how does it have anything to do with the scroll?"

Anko scowled and began flicking her skewer into the ground, like a throwing knife. She managed to bury it at least five centimeters deep, each time.

"The hidden village is _supposed_ to be hidden. Our internal details are secret, our people anonymous, our techniques unknown."

That didn't make sense to me. "But… we've got bingo books. Hell, _every_ hidden village keeps their own bingo books. And we track the bloodlines and major techniques of the other villages. We'd be stupid if we didn't know what Rock might use against us!"

Anko nodded, not offended in the least. "Uh huh. Part of the game. But it's a game played between the shinobi. A game between the hidden villages. A game kept to the shadows, completely hidden from the public view. And also, we do everything we can to protect our secrets and techniques and bloodlines."

Hinata and I both nodded.

"But like you said," Anko continued, "there's theory, and there's real world. Real world is, the Daimyo pays for stuff, and he gets to ask questions. And sometimes, to answer those questions, we send over details. Like, maybe, details on an espionage incursion we had from Grass, about four months back. I don't think either of you were involved. But the Daimyo wanted details on who was involved on their side, and our side. All because we need to justify the expense of repairing a part of our outer wall."

Hinata started to put it together. "So… the Hokage has to send information with details about our people and techniques over to the Daimyo. And that's written on super-confidential scrolls."

From my work with Tsunade-sama I knew the rest. "Those scrolls are only loaned to the Daimyo. He has them just long enough to read the justification and stay informed. But when we get them back, we discover—" It all came together. "—we discover that they've been copied!"

Anko nodded grimly. "Our techniques, our people, all our secrets – they're leaking out. So the Hokage has given this team the order to find the source of that leak."

She picked up the skewer again. This time, when she flung it, she buried into a tree trunk. It was just a bamboo skewer, but she through it hard enough to bury it fifteen centimeters deep into solid hardwood.

"We find the leak and stop it. Permanently."

END OF CHAPTER 9

Author's notes:

Short. Mostly an intro to the next story arc. Trust me, Anko is a wild girl, and has only given the merest hints of her lunacy so far.

The "traveling ten" were stolen, of course, from Perfect Lionheart's _Chunin Exam Day_.

A brief comment about power levels. Sakura just beat Neji, and it was a pretty quick take-down, too. Furthermore, there are still several Ranma techniques that she has yet to re-learn, which eventually should make her even _more_ powerful.

But… she had advanced training against Neji, since Hinata was coaching her. And between her strength and speed, the advantages of ki, and the fact that she's an expert on many of the ninja tricks out there (she knows the book-learning part, at least), while no one has seen the stuff she can do – this all comes together to make her absolutely kick-butt.

For the moment.

It is akin to the development of any major new military technology. Or being surprised by a jutsu you've never seen before. For a while, that new development dominates the battlefield. And then the other side figures out ways to cope with it. That will come to Sakura, too.

It's tough to compare how strong characters are when you cross series, particularly when one is mostly comedy, and the other is a bit more serious. (Not that Naruto is completely serious. I mean, "Mitarashi Anko"? That's like naming a man "Clark Barr" or a child "Baby Ruth.") Yeah, Ranma falls 30 stories and smashes concrete with his face. Because it's funny. Keep in mind that Bugs Bunny survived a weapon that exploded the moon, and Daffy Duck was not only disintegrated, but survived the near-total destruction of Planet X. Does that mean that Bugs and Daffy together could easily destroy Akatsuki? Well… it depends on who's writing it, and what their intended storyline was. (For the record, in the crossover where Ranma was raised by Bugs Bunny instead of Genma, he was nearly invincible so long at his attack featured either song or dance. He also had a nearly invincible anvil attack.)

For now, let's just hope that Sakura can enjoy her moment in the spotlight. There's not much dark in this particular arc, but future arcs…


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Previously:** It is near the end of the "timeskip", shortly before Naruto Part 2 begins. As the last step of her training under Tsunade, Sakura learned a super-secret reincarnation jutsu and remembered her previous life as someone named "Saotome Ranma." But while retraining to use Ranma's skills she learned that ki is not chakra. The two energies seem to interfere with one another – violently. Also, perhaps frustrated by her own love-life problems with Sasuke, she attempted to solve other problems by connecting up Naruto and Hinata. That resulted in the Hyuga clan elders sending an assassination squad to kill her in her bed. So she's letting things cool down with a mission away from Konoha.

The Fire Daimyo receives super-secret briefing scrolls from the Hokage. Someone has been copying these and stealing them, which is a major threat to all Konoha ninja. Sakura, Hinata, and Anko are on their way to the capital of Fire Country, where they must find and eliminate this leak.

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The capital was astonishing. I had memories of Tokyo, and I traveled enough of old Earth so see cities that were nearly as big – Beijing, Hong Kong, Pittsburgh. Yurihonjo wasn't as big, but it seemed even more active, with towering skyscrapers, bustling crowds, lights, noise, and chaos everywhere. Overhead were oh-so-tempting balconies, flagpoles, even telephone wires. The lure for any ninja was nearly irresistible. One leap and we'd be high above this smelly, shoving crowd, able to see far and speed to any destination. Of course, we'd also completely blow our cover.

We'd passed through the gigantic walls that marked the boundary of Inner Yurihonjo – walls even taller and thicker than those that surrounded Konoha. Just goes to show you, I suppose. Politicians will spend a good deal on national defense, but they'll spend even more when it comes to their own protection.

As if to emphasize that, the inner city was filled with towering buildings and skyscrapers. The largest was perhaps twenty stories tall. Not much by Tokyo standards, but huge in the scale of this world. Even so, the skyscrapers were overshadowed by Yuzuki Castle, which was twice as tall as the largest skyscraper. The unbelievable castle was an Edo-period castle, writ large. Writ huge. Writ Godzilla-sized.

The outer walls were at least a dozen meters thick, garnished liberally with ballista and other modern weaponry. I spotted armored balconies specifically designed for chakra-casters. There were ports for hot oil, and the gentle curve at the base of each wall would deflect boulders and channel the flaming oil. Even chakra-using wall walkers would need to climb four stories to get access to the openings, and by then they'd be butchered. The weapons stations were also at a perfect height to counter larger threats, like a boss summons or an Akimichi at full size.

This was a castle designed to fight off an attack by Manda, Gamabunta, and Katsuyu working in concert. I briefly flirted with the idea of the castle standing up to a kyubi attack, but even the toughest castle would fall to a monster that can trigger earthquakes.

The huge castle was even more imposing, because we'd come in to the north city district, built in the castle's shadow. The business signs and lights seemed to be extra garish, as if to make up for the missing sunlight.

"Well, great," Anko said, hollering so that we could hear her above the din. "What now?"

"You're in charge of this expedition!" I accused. "Aren't you supposed to have some idea?"

"Yeah, but we're trying to find a needle in a haystack!"

"Excuse me…"

"If Naruto were here," I decided, "we'd send out a couple hundred orange clones. That would fix things!"

"Excuse me…"

"Yeah?" Anko hollered back. "Well he's not here, is he? So _deal with it!_"

"EXCUSE ME!"

"Sorry, Hinata," I said. "I didn't hear you."

"If you want to find something in this mess," she told us both, rather grumpily, "you might try asking the person who can actually _see_."

"Oh yeah." "Forgot about that."

"And to anticipate your next question," she said, with a touch of ice, "the reason it's so darned crowded here is because of the fight on the next block over."

Anko and I both perked up at that.

"Fight?" "Let's go!"

Between subtle uses of my strength and Anko's special taijutsu (_elbows of the shopping bitch_) we were able to make our way forward to the edge of the fight. The crowd had pulled back, forming a circle there in the intersection. It was an arena ten meters wide, and two men circled each other. One was a merchant, looking fearful and desperate, with sweat pouring off him. The other was a dandy, but a well-built one, with wide shoulders and excellent muscle tone. The dandy wore an expensive western suite, with ruffled lace as his shirt cuffs that poked from a golden brown jacket, which in turn matched his wavy golden-brown hair. At his neck, the man wore a cravat, of all things. I hadn't seen a lot of western fashions here, and had to wonder whether this world was plagued by a "west" as old Japan had been.

The westerner (as I now thought of him), brushed his pencil-thin mustache and spoke in a tenor that carried all around the circle.

"You know the rules. Pay by the end of the night, or pay with your life. I find your line of credit distressingly over-drawn."

"Please – I just need time to get the money together! The cards – I had a straight flush! I took a chance, but I had a _straight flush!_"

"You know the rules."

The crowd featured a mix of people from every class, nobility, commoners, criminals – all pressed together to see the spectacle.

"I have assets – my estate, my art, I just need time…"

The westerner gave a cruel smile. "I believe you put the deed and ownership papers into the final pot. You have nothing. Would you sell your wife, your children into slavery? We'd have to smuggle them up to Lightning Country."

"Yes! Yes, that's what I'll do! And then I'll buy them back once I've recovered—"

The westerner fanned a deck of cards and plucked one out. As fast as any ninja, he flung his card at the pleading merchant. The man turned to run, but the spinning card sliced into his thigh, dropping him to the cobblestones.

"Aieeee!"

"You disgust me! You would trade in human flesh? You would sell your own family to make up for your personal failures? Pathetic."

"Medic! Call the guard! Call anyone! I'm bleeding!"

The westerner had extracted another card. He cocked his arm back.

"Medic!"

I couldn't help myself. I was a trained medic. I couldn't let this man be butchered in front of me, could I? I pushed forward into that empty circle, reaching for the weeping and bloody merchant. But I held myself to normal speed.

A card flashed forward, this time slicing across the man's neck. A bright splash of red gushed out as the man's carotid artery was severed. He spun and arched forward in agony. I reached him just in time to catch the victim as he fell to the ground, his face slamming into me. It took another few seconds to fumble with the healing jutsu – I was still having trouble with my chakra, and I dared not mess up at this stage.

I applied my glowing green hands to his neck, pulling the artery back together, fusing cells. It takes concentration, particularly when you need to perform such complex jutsu in the middle of a city street.

But just as I was making progress, the man's body lost all tension. I felt his heart stop.

"What—?"

I let the corpse slide to the ground, barely noticing how my clever and flirtatious outfit was utterly ruined by sticky red mess that now coated me. There, protruding from the base of the man's skull, was another card. I'd been concentrating on healing, and hadn't even seen it being thrown.

Angrily I plucked it out – but halted in shock.

"If you don't mind, I'll take that back now."

The card was deftly plucked from my fingers and I didn't try to resist. It was suddenly _very_ important not to break cover.

"Now that they've been so well baptized, I think I'll have to call this my lucky deck! Well, lucky for me." The dandy raised his voice, displaying the newly re-assembled deck of cards. "Any of you who feel lucky, remember, there's only one spot to find me! The highest stakes, without a doubt. You've all seen that here in a most dramatic fashion. The most beautiful girls. And of course, always the very finest food and entertainment."

He bowed to the gathered crowd, and suddenly the sharp edge of the circle began to evaporate as the tightly organized crowd disintegrated into random chaos. One moment it was just the three of us in a tight-edged circle: the dandy, the dead merchant, and me. The next instant, the crowd surged, and the city returned to its normal traffic. But in the instant before that happened, the murderous card-sharp spoke one final phrase, loud enough to be heard by everyone around. It was a phrase that utterly stunned me:

"Tsukino Usagi!"

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The crowd swallowed me, but Anko and Hinata found me fairly quickly. It was probably due to covert use of Hinata's _byakugan_.

"Ho ho! Plenty good fun, hey girl?" Anko chortled. "I see it's not so great for the wardrobe, though. We'd better find a place to stay, so you can get cleaned up. The shops and restaurants tend to disapprove when you walk in, covered in freshly spilled blood."

"Sailor Moon…?" I whispered.

"What?" Hinata wondered.

"A memory… from a previous life. But those were just stories…"

Back as Ranma, I'd never revealed to _anyone_ that I was a closet _Sailor Moon_ fan. The fighting was silly, the monsters absurd, the situations uniformly juvenile. And yet… The manga and animé had something special. Despite the silly trappings, the stories had been about friendship and love, and those two issues had always surrounded me. I'd been deathly afraid to admit it, but I'd always been a closet romantic. It had been one of my many curses that I had been forever unable to reveal the fact (not since the age of seven, when my father caught me reading a Harlequin Romance, and beat the snot out of me). But _Sailor Moon_ – they were always fighting for the cause of good, always standing up for love. I know it's silly, but in the comic no one ever seemed to mind that the girls caused major property damage – the girls fought for what they believed in, and were always seen as heroes – as royalty.

Well, it was an appealing fantasy.

My deepest, darkest secret (even worse than the neko-ken) had been the secret "Sailor Sol" outfit I made up for myself. I would splash myself with water, then go out in the middle of the night, practicing my poses and speeches, pretending that people were actually grateful as I saved them.

Looking back at it now, it's a little embarrassing how pathetic I was.

Still, that begged the question of how Tsukino Usagi – the civilian identity of the fictional _Sailor Moon_, had gotten to this world. Was it just coincidence, like TVs and samurai and how everyone seemed to speak Japanese? A disturbingly large number of ideas and images from my past life had echoed into my new life. Was that all this was, an echo? Or was something else going on?

While I pondered all this, Anko dragged us to a mid-quality hotel.

Hinata moved so that the receptionist never saw me, and we were quickly settled into two rooms.

"One for me," Anko explained, "and you two can share the other."

"Pardon me," Hinata said, "but why do you get a room to yourself, when we have to share?"

Anko was almost disdainful. "We need a room free in case I need to do any…interrogation or anything. I might need to use some kunoichi skills to gather information." She seemed to like the sound of that explanation. "Yeah! Kunoichi skills!"

I peeled out of my blood-soaked clothes. "I saw the toilet down the hall. Do they have a furo?"

"First floor," Hinata answered. "It's a full bathhouse." She opened a closet. "Hey, they have hotel robes and slippers!"

"Told you this was a class joint!" Anko called, as she headed over to her own room. "I love an expense account! Meet you there!"

Anko's assessment was accurate. I took about three times as long, washing up, making sure that I didn't have any blood in my hair or anything. Later, I joined the girls as we relaxed in the soaking area.

"You know," I admitted, "I've always loved these professional bath houses. The landscaping, the little waterfalls, all the plants and flowers…"

Hinata giggled. "You sound like Ino, talking about the flowers."

"Well, maybe." I looked over at our overly-endowed captain. "Having problems relaxing, Anko?"

She sunk down in the water a little. "Just thinking about the mission. No clues, no leads, just a needle in a haystack."

"Oh!" I was suddenly feeling very dumb. "I forgot!"

Someday, I'm going to have Anko teach me her tricks. Even nude, even slumped down relaxing in the warm bath, she was able to project that "scary crazy lady" vibe.

"Eep!" I responded, professionally.

"You had a _clue_, and you _didn't tell us?_"

"Well… I was covered in blood? And the crowd was right there? I, uh, needed Hinata to check that no one was listening!"

Hinata clasped her hands (so it seemed) and whispered what might have been either a small prayer or a mumbled "_byakugan_." The genjutsu over her eyes blurred, but didn't break.

"We're safe." Then she let it drop again.

I inhaled and let my breath out slowly. "Okay girls, gather 'round. The reason that Tsunade-sama took me on as apprentice is because of my excellent chakra control. And while I'm a bit messed up at the moment, I can still feel and recognize a lot more than most nins."

"Get on with it!" Anko pleaded.

"Okay. The killer cards? I plucked one out of that dead guy. And while I was holding it, I realized that it had some very complex chakra patterns imprinted on it. I could tell by their intricacy that the process had been done by someone with control that was just as good as mine. As good as any medic-nin. And after thinking for a moment, I realized that I recognized the feel of that chakra."

The other two looked blank. I decided to prod Hinata a bit.

"One clue: the chunin exams."

She frowned for a moment with her weird completely-normal eyes. "Oh! Cards, chakra, and he turned out to be a medic nin, didn't he?"

"Dammit, WHO?"

"Kabuto," I said, very quietly.

For once, Anko was caught without an arrogant smirk. Her face was blank. "Orochimaru's number two…"

I nodded confirmation. "During the chunin exams, back before we knew he was a traitor, Kabuto showed us a deck of cards. He could trigger them with his chakra and display hidden information. And the card I pulled from the dead merchant had been similarly encoded, I'm sure of it. By Kabuto."

Anko's eyes gleamed. "Kabuto? Oh, I'd just love some time alone with _him!_ I'm not a medic, but I'd _love_ to practice some transplant surgery!" She giggled in a way that was most disturbing. "This is fabulous! Were there any other clues? Anything you noticed about the guy throwing the cards? Anything else with the cards themselves?"

"Now that I think of it," I realized, "the back of the card had a strange design. A dark blue field, with white specks, like stars on a night sky. In white there was a huge arc, like a crescent moon. And leaping in front of it, the silhouette of a girl. A girl with two long streamers trailing behind her head, like long rabbit ears." Or like very long pigtails, exactly like the manga character. But I didn't say that aloud.

"He said something," Hinata mentioned, "just as the crowd was closing in."

"Yes, I heard," I confirmed. "Tsukino Usagi."

We sat there a while longer, soaking, thinking, and discussing our options. Finally, when we were baked through to our bones, Anko rose to leave.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.

Every good shinobi develops a sixth sense for danger, for detecting hostile attention. More than just feeling killing intent, it's that creepy feeling that you're being followed or studied. My unease wasn't helped by Anko's stupid giggling. I rose to reach for her arm.

"Look, Anko, I know you're happy with the opportunity we might have, but stop that stupid giggling! There's someone watching us!"

"What are you talking about? I'm not giggling."

As one, the three of us slowly turned to the back wall, constructed of sturdy wooden planking. A knothole had fallen out of one of the planks, and visible through the round hole was the white orb and black pupil of a human eye!

By this point, Hinata had also stood up. The three of us stood there, frozen, for a moment. Then, with a simultaneous reaction, all three of us screamed and dropped back into the water.

"AAAAAAA!" "Peeper! There's a peeper watching us!"

Before I quite realized it, I had grabbed one of the huge rocks used for landscaping and hefted it up over my head. If I had things to do over, I'd do it differently. Not that I really regret the damage to the landscaping. Or the wall. Or to the foundation, which eventually led to some extensive repairs for the inn. And I especially don't regret hurting that semi-anonymous peeper.

No, my regrets come from the field of weightlifting. Anyone involved in professional weightlifting knows that it's necessary to adopt a certain wide-legged stance, in order to brace the torso, as you lift an object above your head. An object such as Olympic weights, or large landscaping boulders. And that stance is…less than modest.

In my mind I can still hear the perverse giggling that issued forth, as I heaved that boulder up over my head. My only balm for this malady is to remember the was the giggles turned to fright, and then a quick scream of terror as I hurled it at him.

Anko stared at the hole, and crater beyond in shock. "I don't know about you, but I don't want to be here when the management sees this. Or when homicide shows up."

Hinata rushed forward toward the hole. "Oh my god, I think you killed—" she waved her hand, fanning away the cloud "—a log? And ninja smoke?"

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It seemed like a good idea to be anywhere else than at the inn. Dressed in completely ordinary kimono, we checked the local area.

"You know," Anko speculated, "we could make that into a real sporting event. I'll bet people would pay to see that."

"What?" Hinata asked. "The naked boulder throw?"

"Naw. I was thinking track and field. The hundred meter dash in bathrobe."

While the two of them chortled and I tried to hide my blush (the intense kind that you can feel on the inside), I pondered the enigma that was Hinata. With Anko and just the three of us, Hinata's sense of humor was actually a touch raunchy at times. And yet, bring out a boy, and she'd clam up faster than a diplomat at a spy convention.

Was this a chameleon trait? Admittedly, that's useful for a ninja, especially a kunoichi. The old "shy girl" model no longer fit as well as it once had. Maybe Hinata just needed to warm up to people. Maybe she was a very different girl than we'd thought.

"Oh, man, I love this place! We gotta go in!" Anko urged.

We'd been casually strolling down the streets of the northern district, getting a feel for the territory. I looked up to see a business ahead of us, and a gaudy sign proclaimed, "Shadow World House of Horror: Wax Figures and Ninja Museum!"

"Uh…I'm not so sure…" I mumbled.

"Okay, here's three arguments," Anko told us, her voice low. "First: expense account. Basically, it's free. I'll even fill out the paperwork. Second: this is exactly the kind of tourist trap our cover identities would go for. We can't _not_ go in. And you can drop it into conversation, if people ask what you've been doing. And third: I've been in there before. The place is hilarious!"

"I… I don't know." Hinata was back to her demure mode. "The wax figures aren't very good, are they? I mean, under the clothes, they're just sticks and wire."

Anko sighed. "Hinata… Try to look at the surface only, okay?"

I'd never heard this place mentioned in Konoha. But inside, various plaques and descriptions made it clear that this was an "actual, true, and lifelike" depiction of the famous ninja of the Country of Fire, who lived in a hidden village somewhere deep within the impenetrable forests that filled the center of our great nation.

I have to say, their depictions of the first two hokage seemed pretty accurate. Of course, any Konoha nin grow up seeing the monument over our city every day, so we're more than a little familiar with what our former leaders looked like. And now that I thought about it, I realized that a lot of our biggest battles were public knowledge – at least in Konoha. It wasn't _that_ surprising that artists and storytellers from the capital had traveled to our little village to learn the tale and collect images.

Still, it was a little shocking to see the attack of the kyubi, redone as a wax museum horror scene. And I was definitely taken back by the next display, garishly labeled, "The Uchiha Massacre!"

It didn't help that Anko was snickering.

"They got the blood completely wrong! It so does not pool that way. And believe me, I was there for the cleanup. Itachi was brutal, but neat. Splashing the walls? As if. A quick stab and go, that was him. He got most of them in their beds, not out on the street like that."

I was more taken by the small boy, scrambling away in terror. The plaque prominently identified him as "Uchiha Sasuke – sole survivor."

"You know," I casually mentioned, "they'd better hope that Sasuke never actually visits this place. Considering all the wax, and his proficiency with excessively large fireballs."

"Hey!" Hinata called, "the Chunin Exam!"

Naturally they had a scene of the Third fighting Orochimaru. It was an extremely snake-like Orochimaru, that I thought had probably been recycled from another exhibit. Likewise, the undead versions of the First and Second looked less like resurrected corpses, and more like dusty rejects from a recycled exhibit.

Hinata pointed to the center of the arena. "Hey, is that supposed to be Gaara?"

I peered closely. "I think so. Why does he look so…heroic?"

Anko shrugged. "He's Kazekage now. The capital gets a lot of visitors from Wind."

We left the "House of Horror" and I had a lingering feeling of unease. The great sacrifices of the hidden village had been reduced to silly and inaccurate scenes. It was rather disturbing, when you thought of it. But I began to see Anko's point. I had more than a little medical knowledge, and experience with fresh wounds. The cuts, the wounds, and the blood were completely wrong!

I looked at Anko. "I hate to say it, but you were right. It _was_ pretty funny!"

"Let's go again tomorrow!" Hinata squealed.

Laughing, the three of us turned the corner and there it was.

In front was a sign with their logo: a deep blue starry night with an exaggerated white crescent moon. Atop all that was the silhouette of a girl with a figure far better than Sailor Moon had ever had. And beneath the logo was the name of the business: Not Tsukino Usagi, but Tsuki no Usagi – the _Rabbit In The Moon_.

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We were soon inside, visiting the private and screened-off coat room on the first floor. An attractive woman in a kimono greeted us, saying, "I'm sorry, the club isn't open for business until after sunset. And I'm afraid it's for members only. Are you members?"

From the looks on their faces, Hinata and Anko were thinking as quickly and furiously as I was: Gambling den, private club, evening hours. We'd hit the jackpot!

"Actually," Anko said easily, believably, "we're here looking for jobs."

"Oh! Wonderful! We always have openings for new girls on the staff. Do any of you have experience?"

I volunteered, "I did a lot of waitressing during school." Of course, it was high school, and on a different planet, but no big deal. If I could handle ramen from the Old Ghoul, I could handle anything _these_ losers could come up with.

"I've done some bartending," Anko revealed. I thought she was guessing, but from the look of the receptionist, she was on the mark. "Also, I have a little experience dealing blackjack."

And that was the question. The clues said that this was some sort of gambling joint. Anko's guess might confirm that. We waited tensely for the response.

"Excellent! Oh, I'm sure all of you will work out." Her gaze dropped to Anko's chest. "You certainly seem qualified. So just follow me through here and we'll take you back for a fitting, and pick your colors."

I blinked at that. _Colors?_

"You can start this evening? Good. You'll come in through the employee's entrance; I'll show that to you in a moment. Then you'll head for the girl's dressing room. I'll meet you at six, and we'll go through orientation before any of the members show up."

Saying that, she opened the last door and led us in.

I had been so wrong.

I'd suspected odd echoes and snatches of the familiar carried over from Ranma's life. That was so true. Based on my own secret addiction to the _Sailor Moon_ series, I had engaged in irresponsible speculation. The _Rabbit In The Moon_ had nothing to do _Sailor Moon_. It had everything to do with the night, nocturnal activity, and bunnies.

I had just signed up to work at the Playboy Club.

END OF CHAPTER 10

Author's notes:

A bit of a short chapter, but that's where the punch line came.

Deep apologies: last episode I used the "traveling ten." This is, of course, a direct steal from Perfect Lionheart's Chunin Exam Day – an utterly brilliant work (like all of PL's stories). Hmmm, better go add a note to the end of that chapter. Anyway, the idea was swiped and expanded without anything like requesting permission. Hopefully PL (you don't mind if I call you "PL" do you?) won't send assassins after me.

Pointless explanation of Japanese Culture: Where westerners see a "man in the moon", Japanese see a "rabbit in the moon." He's sitting back on his hind legs, swinging a mallet overhead, into a big cask/bucket of rice, pounding it into mochi (sweet sweet mochi – what a treat!) Yes, the names of virtually every _Sailor Moon_ character is a horrendous pun.

Those of you who are hyperventilating can relax. Aside from misleading references derived from Ranma's memories, I promise that there will be no crossover with _Sailor Moon_. You're safe.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Previously:** It is near the end of the "timeskip", shortly before Naruto Part 2 begins. As the last step of her training under Tsunade, Sakura learned a super-secret reincarnation jutsu and remembered her previous life as someone named "Saotome Ranma." But while retraining to use Ranma's skills she learned that ki is not chakra. The two energies seem to interfere with one another – violently. Also, perhaps frustrated by her own love-life problems with Sasuke, she attempted to solve other problems by connecting up Naruto and Hinata. That resulted in the Hyuga clan elders sending an assassination squad to kill her in her bed. So she's letting things cool down with a mission away from Konoha.

The Fire Daimyo receives super-secret briefing scrolls from the Hokage. Someone has been copying these and stealing them, which is a major threat to all Konoha ninja. While investigating in the capital, our team found a card-dealing executioner who used the same card techniques as Orochimaru's henchman, Kabuto. There was also a clue from Ranma's past life – the name "Tsukino Usagi", the secret identity of Sailor Moon! By the time the girls had followed this clue and signed up for waitress work, they realized that this had nothing to do with Sailor Moon or past lives. They had signed up with _Tsuki no Usagi_, the "Rabbit in the Moon" – a Fire Country version of the Playboy Club!

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Plenty of people have seen the basic Playboy Bunny costume – a sort of leotard-like outfit, except that it lacks shoulders or straps. And the girls wearing it usually look more than a little shapely.

Lies, all lies.

The insidious outfit was designed by some sadistic ancestor of Morino Ibiki, for the sole purpose of torturing helpless young girls. While it appears to be a satiny sheath not unlike a leotard, it is in actuality a rigid plastic shell, stamped out in a shape that some _man_ decided was an ideal feminine figure. Forget girdles, forget corsets. The Playboy Bunny armor exceeds those horrors in every way imaginable.

For one thing, it imposes perfect posture. It's impossible to lean forward or back, your spine is clamped rigidly upright, with an extra bit of curve forced in, just where your lower back loves to spasm. Your belly is pressed in until it's flattened against your tortured spine, your waist is squeezed in from the sides. And your breasts – they use as much padding and manipulation as necessary to give you ample rounding up at the top of the hell-garment, while the underside of your "shape" is filled with compressed foam. It's roughly as comfortable as having your face pressed inside a clamp for eight or nine hours.

The three of us were given lockers for changing.

Thong underwear was a necessity, and I'd long since bowed to the inevitable concerning thongs. I didn't mind panty hose, either. I'm rather proud of my legs, and these were top-quality hose. Strong and shimmery at the same time, they had just a hint of pattern to the weave, giving a very subtle fishnet effect, but you had to look for it.

The open-toed high heels had the other girls groaning in instant terror. Here's where I had to button my lip. Ki usage strengthened my muscles and body to the point where I could balance on a fingertip, or break bricks with my forehead (no jokes please). High heels were nothing. I could dance in them. I could fight in them. I could dance and fight while balancing on a high wire above a waterfall, in high heels. Delivering food for eight hours straight would be nothing.

"I don't know what sadistic bastard ever invented high heels," Anko was saying, "but someday, I'll hunt him down. His death will be slow and painful, I promise!"

I laughed uncomfortably. "Ah, yeah. I sure do hate 'em!"

"Do they make my legs look okay?" Hinata asked, standing, in nothing but hose and heels.

It was about at this point where Anko and I reached out little agreement about Hinata's bulky coat. The agreement was: Keep her wearing it, whenever possible!

The truth is, Hinata's figure is just too damn good to be true. Not that Anko was lacking either, but Hinata was slender in all the places you're supposed to be slender – only more so. And she was full in all those places where you wish you were full, only way more so. As if that wasn't bad enough, she would move with this tentative, awkwardly shy style that I just knew would have the guys eating out of her hand. And when she wasn't thinking about that, when she forgot to remember that she was underconfident, she didn't walk, she slinked like a cat. And absolutely worst of all, there is no way that breasts that large should be able to be "pert." That sort of weight sags – it has to. It does not jut proudly forward without hint of droop.

It made me want to barf.

"Alright girls, I think I have your suits," our "hutch mother" Mayumi told us, striding into the changing room.

"Anko dear, I've gone with a black for you. I think that should suit you well. Hinata, I think this lilac will match your coloring. And Sakura? I've picked pink for you."

"Uh," I protested, "but my hair is brown, see? Definitely not pink."

"I know, dear, but somehow pink just seemed like your color."

"Yeah, I understand."

To be honest, pink is my favorite color, but if you can't have a little change when you're on a mission and in disguise, what's the point?

"The zipper is built in to the side here, see? Some places might pinch or be a little tight, but you'll get used to it."

We all struggled into the hell garments.

"Remember to change out your shoes if they don't already match your suits. How's the fit?"

Having my waist pinched like that didn't allow for deep breaths, but I could live with that. The main problem was the pre-fitted cups, up top. I fell more than a little short.

"I think I'm a couple of cup sizes off," I protested.

"I'm okay," Hinata said, further crushing my ego.

"Not me," Anko said, giving a pleasant boost to my morale…

"I mean, am I really expected to squeeze into these tiny things?"

…only to utterly destroy me, a sentence later.

Mayumi came over to help me. "Don't worry dear – you'd be astounded what we can do with some padding and a little spirit gum…"

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_The Rabbit in the Moon_ was posh. I'm not sure if it was the most elegant club in the capital – it's not like I travel much in those circles – so who knows? The interior was completely covered in red velvet with soft and sensual curtains and tapestries of thick red felt.

Girls like us, decorated with long, white rabbit ears and little puff tails on our butts glided about with trays for drinks, or small plates of extremely expensive snack food. There were roulette wheels and card tables, dice tables and even pachinko.

Our goal was to spot a leak that originated on one end with the Daimyo himself. On the other ends – well, we didn't know. The clue about Kabuto might pan out, and it might be a red herring. But for the moment, the _Rabbit in the Moon_ was a good angle to investigate. There were certainly plenty of members of the Daimyo's family here.

I'm not sure how the original Playboy Clubs were set up, back on Ranma's earth, but I suspect they didn't have bars and chairs for the samurai.

Every member of the Daimyo's family, every nobleman present, arrived with a samurai guard. The age, experience, and number of samurai served as a tricky demonstration of status. The Daimyo himself, should he ever show up, would probably be accompanied by at least four of the famous twelve guardians.

So while the upper crust gambled and drank, the perimeter of the room had arrangements that allowed samurai to lounge and engage in modest entertainment, without distracting them from their charge of observing their noble charges.

Anko grabbed me as I headed back toward the kitchen. "Hinata's no good," she whispered urgently. "Some samurai can detect chakra. They'd feel her genjutsu, maybe even dispel it."

"What about you?" I asked,

"I'll be busy at the blackjack table."

I nodded. "I've got it covered, then. They won't get a whiff of chakra off me."

I headed out to Samurai Row, along the far wall. It was raised three steps above the main floor, and had a bar that they sat behind. Every single one of them had his back to the wall, and sat facing the interior of the room.

I came to the first of the bodyguards, and give him a bunny-curtsey – a quick up-and-down that gave me a nice stretch through knees.

"Hi, I'm Sakura!" I chirped. "Can I get you anything? Everything on our samurai menu is complimentary."

The bodyguard had his arm inside his kimono, and was scratching at the three-day stubble on his chin. His was like a wannabe Toshiro Mifune.

"Darlin'," he drawled, "you say 'complimentary' like it's free. Nothin' in life is free."

"Perhaps not," I bantered back. "I'm just the drink girl, but it seems to me that by being here, you're already paying the price. Might as well get the free drinks that go with it, right?" I smiled winsomely at him.

Two seats down was another samurai, an older man who appeared almost dapper – if such a word could be applied to samurai.

"Just as well," the dapper man stated, "Jigo doesn't really need any more saké."

"Yes I do!" The first waved an empty bottle. "And make sure it's properly heated!"

The third of their group, Ichiro, was a fairly plump fellow. That was a bit surprising, since Samurai tended to be on the lean side.

"Don't mind Kato," he said. "He can't resist poking the drunk."

"'m not drunk," Jigo mumbled.

I took their orders cheerfully, and returned quickly. Since I was new, I thought I'd be permitted a few mistakes. I brought Jigo's ceramic saké bottle on a small saucer. His bar seat left him nearly three feet higher than a normal counter, so it was difficult to reach up. I had to go up and behind, to serve them. As I held out Jigo's saucer, I "accidentally" stumbled, tipping the saucer forward.

It was just as I'd suspected. Jigo barely moved. With little more than a twitch, his hand was there intercepting the saucer and placing his precious bottle down with scarcely a sound.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I gushed. "Thank you, so much!"

"Eh, don' mention it."

"He means that," the dapper Kato followed up. "No need to mention this mishap to anyone. We wouldn't want you to get in trouble, would we?"

"Oh, no sir! Thank you!"

I finished, serving the dried fish to the plump Ichiro. He was the worst of the three, since his eyes were frankly studying me, and not the way my costume would draw the eye. But he said nothing.

By the time I finished my rounds, I'd begun to make a name for myself as a "samurai groupie." I'd chatted up the entire group and shown such sincere interest that our floor leader, Mayumi, permanently assigned me to the "bully boy" patrol, which was one of the less popular duties.

She'd had to intervene one other time, around the far side of the room as I was serving a younger man. He was obviously the type that was granted bodyguard status as an inherited position. The son of a famous swordsman, or maybe even the lesser son of a noble. All of us were careful not to use the word "punk" out loud when referring to him. He had a lean face and a sharp nose that might have been attractive, but his eyes were always moving and studying – a bit too nervously I thought – and he seemed to have a rather covetous expression.

As I dropped off his saké he clamped a large hand around my much smaller wrist.

"You like samurai, huh babe? How 'bout I show you some _real_ fun? When do you get off?"

I smiled inside. I'd already evaluated the kid's fighting skills, and he was one of the lower ranks in the room. If I wanted an even match with him, I'd have to be blindfolded, and have both arms and a leg tied behind my back. Ah, who was I kidding? Even like that, I'd still wipe the floor with him.

On the surface, though, I forced myself to look concerned. "Sir, please! It's against club policy to have any sort of relationship with a customer." I attempted, "helplessly" to escape his fearsome grasp.

"Rules were meant to be broken, didn't you know that, girl? I promise you'll enjoy breaking them, almost as much as I will."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mayumi frantically signaling to Suzuki-san. The older woman was second-in-command most nights. She wasn't dressed as a bunny, but wore a subtly understated kimono that screamed megabucks to anyone with the skill to see the stitching, and the care that had gone into each layer of her wardrobe.

"Is there a problem here, Tatsuyuki-san?" she asked, in an utterly neutral voice as she addressed the dumb punk.

I was slightly surprised that she knew the kid's name, but she'd been remarkably attentive throughout the evening. I'd have to play my part very carefully, with her in the vicinity.

"Naw, no problem. Just your girl here won't tell me when she gets off."

"And it is proper that she does not. No doubt our rules were not sufficiently explained to you, Tatsuyuki-san. The girls in our establishment are expected to be friendly and attractive, and _nothing else_. If you desire the services of an unsavory dancing establishment or perhaps even a bordello," there were mild gasps as this, "this city maintains many such establishments. However, there is only one _Tsuki no Usagi_. For your own enjoyment, as well as that of your fellows, I hope my modest reminder has been sufficient. Might I offer you some refreshment from the patron menu, to soothe you in the wake of this regrettable discovery?"

"I'm not going to be bought off with some fancy food or drink. I just want to know when the girl gets off!"

Suzuki-san raised a hand to her mouth, to conceal a slight laugh. Withdrawing her other hand from the sash of her kimono, she held a pair of long wooden blocks. She struck these together, producing a sharp _CLACK!_ sound that was audible through the length of the club. A moment later, a pair of samurai stepped forward. I'd never before seen samurai in tuxedos. It was an interesting look, and an interesting cut, as well. It looked like they've have no problem moving or fighting in those outfits – at least for standard kendo moves.

"Gentlemen, Tatsuyuki-san insists on knowing when…" she looked at me, though I'm sure she knew my name.

"Sakura," I supplied.

"When Sakura-san finishes with us for the evening. Please take him to the schedule room, where you can provide him with the proper information."

Not sure what to make of this, the punk rose and allowed himself to be escorted away by the two bouncers who were obviously both stronger and more experienced than he was. Once they'd left, I had to ask, "Will you really give out my schedule?"

Suzuki-san smiled indulgently. "It is sometimes a kindness to engage in a small, harmless deception in order to maintain the tranquility of an establishment. If you like, we shall provide you with an escort home for the next few nights." With that, she gave an abbreviated bow, superior to inferior, and left.

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Our "lunch" break came shortly after midnight. The small break room was empty, and the three of us decided to share information. We each had a small bento box from the kitchen, and sat down at the smallest table. Hiding her hands under the table, Anko made a quick set of seals.

"It's a hush bubble," she explained. "It won't be obvious, but no one should be able to hear us."

Her manic grin would have made her a scary-looking kunoichi in her regular outfit. The look was slightly spoiled by being in a bunny costume. Also, there was the fact that Anko was probably grinning because her bento box was filled to the top with dango.

The special jonin rubbed her hands together in glee. "Jackpot, girls. Half the daimyo's sons and nephews come here. When the betting and stakes get high, various heirloom items get tossed into the pot. Deeds, calligraphy, artwork – all usually rolled up in scrolls. The table dealer may choose whether or not to accept these, and the dealers have to estimate a value. The pot, of course, goes to the winner."

"In other words," I realized, "the exchange can happen in plain sight, with no one the wiser."

Anko nodded, picking up a skewer and gleefully crunching into it.

Hinata took things up from there. "You noticed that one nin with the Sand headband? We're on embassy row. Each embassy is allowed to include up to four shinobi on staff, for protection. They can come and go freely throughout the capital, provided they wear their forehead protector. And, due to an incident nearly two decades ago, the forehead protectors can be kept out of sight, 'to avoid provoking a public reaction.' They only need to show it if challenged by authorities. In other words, police, registered samurai, or Konoha shinobi."

Anko groaned. "I can see it coming. How many concealed shinobi are in the crowd?"

"Three. Two mist, one rain."

I nodded, somewhat comforted. "The pair in the blue kimono, and the woman in the ugly pants suit?"

"Yes. How could you tell?" Hinata asked.

This should have been standard ninja training. In the academy and afterward, this was one of those things they talked about but seemed unable to teach. My time as Ranma had made such evaluations almost automatic.

"A combination of things," I tried to explain. "Their stance, their movements, very much their eyes and how they studied things, but also _what_ they were looking at. The hands, too – calluses, the way their arms hung and the movements of their fingers whenever something would happen."

"What did you discover about the samurai?" Anko demanded.

"About two thirds I'd place at genin-level, or the equivalent," I judged. "Some green kids similar to our academy graduates, some experienced and with fair skill, but all about genin-level. The last third I'd rank as chunin. That is, fighting with a Konoha chunin, they'd have even odds to win or lose. But watch out for those three at the end." I described Ichiro, Jigo, and Kato. "Mid-jonin, at least. Ichiro caught me testing the 'drunk' one, and he's probably talked to the other two since then. And Jigo looks drunk, but it sure hasn't affected his reflexes. Any of them alone should be extremely confident, but they also have the look of easy and experienced teamwork."

Anko finished another dango skewer and sighed in happiness.

"How do you eat all those sweets and still keep that figure?" Hinata challenged, whimsically.

Anko rapped her knuckles against the hard suit. "Hear that? Rock-hard abs. Hey, maybe we could convince people to use this as ANBU armor! Steel instead of plastic… it might work."

We speculated briefly on the equivalent armor for guys. It shouldn't be surprising that Anko's ideas were more than a bit smutty. What _was_ an eye opener was that Hinata was at least as dirty minded – maybe more so.

As we left the break room, I looked at my roommate with new respect and more than a touch of apprehension.

"I hadn't realized you were so…experienced," I said, trying to be tactful.

"I'm not, personally," she explained. "But I keep my eyes open, you know?"

I gulped, wondering if Naruto would ever forgive me. I mean, she seemed like such a _nice_ girl. Innocent.

Was it a mistake to try and set her up with Naruto?

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The most interesting of the chunin-level samurai was a young fellow named Hirotaka. His Lord was about the same age as Hirotaka, unmarried, and from a noble family unconnected to the Daimyo. I approached, carrying a tray of fresh food up over my shoulder.

"Ah, go read one of those stupid pumpkin books!" The samurai bellowed across several tables, to where his lord was working away at the craps table.

"You dare speak ill of my beloved _Icha Icha_ masterpieces? Surely the gods will sympathize with my suffering, and reward me with… Yes! A seven!"

I began setting out the food. "Pumpkin books?" I asked, quietly.

Hirotaka spotted me and eyed me appreciatively. Inwardly I fumed, but after sixty or seventy times, you begin to get used to it. My inner self – the self-image of myself that I keep in my private thoughts, had lately been walking around in the nude. It felt less revealing.

Hirotaka smiled, accepting a plate of snacks. "Aha! The beautiful girl plies the handsome samurai for information! Perhaps she is, in truth, no simple serving girl, but rather the beautiful and elegant agent of a mysterious foreign nation!"

I froze. Had I been identified so easily? But…I wasn't from another country, like the disguised Mist nins.

"Lay off, Hirotaka! Can't you see that you're confusing her? Besides, we're tired of hearing about those stupid books!"

"Books?" I asked.

"Indeed, yes," the samurai confirmed. "But they are far from stupid. Unlike the bestselling _Icha Icha_ series, which appeals to the, ah, more perverse elements of the public, the _Koneko and Jiro_ series focuses on _romance!_ Romance set against the blazing backdrop of nation against nation, as governments and clans vie for supremacy!"

"There he goes again," complained the samurai to Hirotaka's left. "I'll need another full saké if I'm going to have to hear this tripe again."

I curtsied to acknowledge the order and hurried away. When I returned, Hirotaka resumed his narrative as if I'd never left.

"Imagine Jiro – a handsome and dedicated samurai. Perhaps he focuses a bit too much on honor and training. His looks: rugged, not unlike my own. His skill, unmatched. All he needs is a battlefield to prove himself on. Jiro is utterly loyal to his nation, the Country of Hills."

"But," I protested, sounding a bit more stupid than I needed to, "there isn't any Country of Hills."

"Fiction, my dear, fiction. Jiro's one and only weakness is the beautiful kunoichi girl, Kaneko. She's from the Lowland Countries, protected by their massive dikes. Ruthless, cunning, and a genius at disguise, the only battle she's ever lost was when she met Jiro – and lost her heart. Tragically, fate pits them against each other, as both are manipulated by the evil Ninja Master who lives in the Dark Castle that lies in the center of the Country of Swamps!"

"Well, I'm sure they have to be better than those _Icha Icha_ books," I offered, charitably.

Hirotaka nodded vigorously. "More tasteful, too. The _Icha Icha_ books have orange covers and binding, but the _Koneko and Jiro_ series are all done in an attractive forest green!"

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The end of our "day" came shortly after sunrise. We'd each carefully packed our costumes away in our assigned lockers. Mayumi told us how happy she'd been with our performance, and finalized some details on salaries and schedules.

Then, finally back in regular, _comfortable_ clothes, we staggered home. That is, we headed toward the hotel that was our temporary home. I was enjoying the feel of having my upper anatomy back in the shape that nature intended. The other two girls didn't have their intimates cruelly abused, but they did have their own problems.

"Sakura…?" Hinata began, in her quiet way, "when we get back to the hotel, do you think you could look at my feet? In a medical sense, I mean. I want to make sure I'm not doing permanent damage to them."

"Hell, yeah!" Anko agreed. "Here's my plan. A B-rank mission to hunt down the inventor of those shoes. We'll need Ibiki along to provide inspiration. Then a long interrogation session with the man, but we've only got one question which is: What the hell were you thinking?"

I didn't want to admit that my ki-strengthened feet felt fine. Instead, I griped, "At least you didn't have to have your boobs stretched and glued into weird shapes, just to fit an incorrectly-sized costume! I'm gonna have nightmares!"

Anko began picking her teeth with a fingernail. "Only two good things I can see from this. First – like I said before, I think we hit the jackpot. I feel good about this. I think we've figured out where the transfer is done, and we've mostly figured out how. The only thing left is identifying the parties involved, and catching 'em red-handed."

"What's the second thing?" Hinata asked.

"That guy following us," Anko admitted. "I could use the stress relief."

Right on cue, a voice called out, "Hold it right there ladies, and there won't be any trouble!"

The three of us smiled and cracked our knuckles, slowly turning around.

END OF CHAPTER 11

Author's notes:

A bit short compared to other chapters, sorry. But the fight really belongs in the next chapter.

I made a remark sometime earlier about not wanting to simply rehash the wave country mission or the chunin exam. Don't get me wrong, I've read a ton of fics that play with those plotlines. (Heck, _Chunin Exam Day_ redoes the exam sometimes two or three times per _chapter_, and it's reaching toward sixty chapters. And it's a _hell_ of a lot of fun.) At the same time, I think there's an opportunity to push the edges of the universe a bit, and explore other fun details of the world. (Though to be fair, _Chunin Exam Day_ explores the universe more than most any other story out there.)

Thanks for the wonderful reviews! They definitely motivate me!


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